Baby Girl
by Dancingqueen4Life
Summary: Natasha knew that she'd do anything for her, even defect from the country she thought she loved. Natasha knew without a doubt that she'd do whatever she had to to keep her safe. Rated T because I have no idea where the story is going to go. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**So this idea snuck itself into my head, and I decided that I liked it, so I'm writing it. I have absolutely no idea how long it's going to be, or anything about it really, except that I hope you guys like it as well.**

"Где мама собирается?" _'Where Mommy going?'  
_"Я должен идти на работу, ребенка." _I have to go to work, baby.'  
_"Я иду слишком?" '_I go too?'  
_"Нет, милая. Это слишком опасно. Г-н Xavier собирается принять вас в свою школу и заботиться о вас." _'No, sweetie. It's too dangerous. Mr. Xavier is going to take you to his school and take care of you.'  
_"Как долго мама ушла?" _'How long mommy gone?'  
_"Я не знаю, милый. Но я приду вам, когда я сделал, хорошо?" _'I don't know, sweetie. But I'll come get you when I'm done, ok?'_

The small girl nodded, and threw herself into her mother's arms.

"Be a good girl, Lexi, and I'll see you later."

The little girl pulled away from her mom slightly and pressed a kiss to her nose, which her mother returned. Then, she carefully made her way to the waiting man, and followed him to the car outside. She climbed in and buckled herself, before turning around as best she could, and waving goodbye to her mother.

Natalia Romanova smiled as she waved back to her daughter. She knew Lexi would be safe in America with Professor Xavier, knew that none of her enemies would be able to get to her if she was at the school.

* * *

She easily took down the guards, snapping their necks or stabbing them, making sure not to draw attention to herself.

Just as she was about tot enter the room the mark was sitting in, she heard a voice behind her

"Я бы не стал этого делать, если бы я тебя, Наталья" _'I wouldn't do that if I were you, Natalia.'_

She slowly turned around to find a man holding a bow and arrow, his aim locked on her chest.

"Are you going to kill me?"  
"If I have to."

They stared at each other then, both trying to determine who'd make the first move.

Finally, Natalia got tired of waiting.

"Well, aren't you going to do it?"  
"No, I have a different idea."  
"Oh?"  
"How would you like to come work for us? It'll give you a chance to wipe some of the red out of your ledger."  
"Work for you? You want me to defect?"  
"Unless you'd rather I killed you. But the choice is entirely yours."  
Natalia pretended to think over his proposal, but it wasn't really a difficult decision. She wasn't going to leave her daughter alone if she could help it.

Slowly she lowered her weapons and stepped toward him.  
"Fine."  
The man nodded, lowered his bow, and gestured for them to leave.

"Why are you doing this?"  
"Would you rather I didn't?"  
"No! I was just wondering why."  
"I don't know." He responded quietly.

Silence settled around them as they exited the building, and Natalia realized she was lacking critical information.

"What's your name?"  
"Clint. Clint Barton."  
"Natalia Romanova."  
"Oh, believe me, I know."  
Natalia nodded. She knew he knew her name; he'd been using it. But it seemed weird that he seemed to know about her reputation.

"Where are we going?"  
"HQ. You need to meet some people."  
She nodded again, before remembering that she had to go home, at least for a moment. Even if it would take some time for them to notice that she was gone, they would, and they'd send someone to her house, and she couldn't risk them finding out that she'd kept her daughter.

"We need to stop somewhere first."  
Clint looked at her and shrugged, allowing her to lead him to wherever they were going.

When they arrived at the house, Natalia went in, while Clint called in to talk with his handler about the mission.

She hurried to her room, and quickly grabbed a bag and shoved some clothes into it. She hurried to Lexi's room and grabbed a few stuffed animals, along with the photo albums of the two of them.

When she was done, she said a silent apology, before exiting the house, and pushing a button hidden by a tree, causing the entire house to burst into flames.

Clint was surprised but said nothing, choosing instead to watch the woman next to him. She was staring at the burning house, and he vaguely wondered why she was burning the house, but decided he'd find out later.

Finally, she turned to him and nodded, and the two of them walked away.

"They're going to want to look in your bag, so if you have anything you don't want them to see, you can put it in my bag. I won't look, I promise." He added the last bit after seeing the look on her face.

She considered for a moment, and nodded. They stopped so she could move the photo albums from her bag to his, trying not to make them look like they were for a little girl.

They finally arrived to wherever the hell they'd been headed, and were met with a plane, and a very annoyed man.

Natalia followed Clint to the plane, where he introduced her to the man.

"Natalia, this is Agent Coulson. Coulson, this is Natalia Romanova."  
Natalia nodded in greeting, but the agent made no move to acknowledge her presence, choosing to glare at Clint until the archer stepped on the plane, gesturing for Natalia to follow him.

As she got seated, Natalia desperately wanted to ask if they could stop on their way and pick up her daughter, but she knew there would be questions, and she'd need something to look forward to.  
So she sat in her seat, and tried not to think about how long it would take the Red Room to learn that she'd defected.  
She was pulled from her thoughts by Coulson asking her a question

"Is your real name Natalia Romanova?"  
"I think so. That's what they called me, so I answered."  
Coulson nodded before speaking again. "You'll need to change it. Or at least Americanize it."

She nodded, and thought for a moment before giving her answer.  
"Natasha Romanoff."  
Coulson and Clint nodded their acceptance, and silence fell over them again.  
A few hours later, they landed and stepped off the plane. Natasha looked around her and noticed that they were on an aircraft carrier. She saw a group of agents, all of them looking slightly terrified, presumably there to take her to an interrogation room.

Before she could walk over to them, Clint stopped her, and began speaking very quickly and quietly in Russian, trying to make sure that no one overheard what he was saying.

"Просто ответьте на их вопросы. Будьте правдивым, как это возможно, и не убивать любого из них. Я возьму сумку, где вы будете в конечном итоге остановились, и я прослежу, чтобы они не испортить что-нибудь, когда они проходят через это, и я буду держать все, что вы положите в шахте от них и скрытой, пока вы решить, что вы хотите с ним делать. Я проверю позже." _'Just answer their questions. Be as truthful as possible, and don't kill any of them. I'll take your bag to where you'll end up staying, and I'll make sure they don't ruin anything when they go through it, and I'll keep whatever you put in mine away from them and hidden until you decide what you want to do with it. I'll check on you later.'_

She wanted to tell him that she didn't need him to check on her, but she was starting to realize that Clint might be the only person willing to be nice to her, if the looks other agents were giving her were anything to go by.  
So she nodded, before walking to the agents and following them to an interrogation room where they left her alone.

* * *

Natasha had memorized the entire room she was in. She'd lost count of how long she'd been in the room, but knew it couldn't have been too long, or she'd be hungry.

Finally, the door opened and a man with an eye patch walked in and sat down across from her.  
They sat in silence for a while, before the man finally spoke

"Ms. Romanova."  
"Romanoff now, actually."  
He nodded and wrote something down before continuing.

"Agent Barton extended an opportunity to you to come work at SHIELD, did he not?"  
Natasha nodded.

"However, that was not his call to make, and I'm inclined to ignore it, and have you removed from this ship, sent back to Russia, and blocked all access to America. Is there any reason I should let you work here?"  
"I destroyed my home, and by now they'll have figured out that I left. If I go back, they'll kill me."  
"That was Agent Barton's mission. Either way, the intended end result will be achieved."  
"True. But if they, or you, kill me, I won't be able to protect her."  
This caught his attention. "Her?"  
Natasha nodded.

"Care to elaborate?"  
Natasha's only response was to look pointedly at the cameras and microphones.

The man across from her caught on, and pressed a button that disabled all media in the room, so that everything she said now would be off the record.

"Now, who is 'Her'?"  
Natasha sighed, but answered. "My daughter."  
The man looked astounded. He stood suddenly and left the room. The door reopened moments later, and Clint walked to the table.

"So. You have a daughter?"  
She just stared at him, a question evident in her eyes.

"Fury told me."  
"Fury?"  
"Director Fury."  
She nodded, but didn't answer his question.

"Natasha."  
"Hmm?"  
"Do you really have a daughter?"  
She looked at him for a second, before nodding slowly once.  
Clint seemed shocked, although she could tell he was doing his best not to let it show.

"Where is she?"  
"Safe."  
"Natasha."  
"Why do you keep calling me that?"  
"It's your name."  
"But why do you call me Natasha instead of Romanoff?"  
"Because I want you to feel safe."  
Her only response was a wry laugh.

"I mean it, Natasha. We're not going to kill you."  
"Good to know."  
He smiled, and reminded her of his question. "Where's your daughter?"

Natasha shook her head. She didn't want to risk someone else going to get her.

Clint sighed, and tried a new question, "Who's your daughter?"  
She gave him a confused look, not completely understanding his question.

"Can you tell me about her?"  
"What do you want to know?"  
"Well, what's her name?"  
"Alexis."  
"Does she have a nickname?" Natasha nodded.  
"What is it?"  
"Lexi."  
Clint smiled. "How old is she?"  
"She'll be three in a couple of months."  
"Does she look like you?"  
"Yes."  
"Does she have your hair and eye color?"  
"Yes."  
"She sounds cute."

Natasha nodded, deciding she didn't need to speak.

"Is your boyfriend her dad?"  
Natasha laughed. "Is that your way of finding out if I'm single?"  
Clint just shrugged, wanting her to continue. But Natasha decided that she'd said enough, and stopped talking.

Clint sighed, but didn't push her to answer. "You'll tell me one day, Natasha."  
Natasha just stared at him, crawling back into her shell, closing herself off from people.

Clint stood and made his way to the door. Just before opening it, he turned back to ask her one last question.

"Do you want to go get her?"  
She didn't say anything, but she gave a slight nod.

Clint nodded in response, and left the room.

A few minutes later, the door opened again, and Director Fury walked in.

"Ms. Romanoff. Agent Barton has agreed to be your partner for the time being. We'll try you out as an agent, but if we're not satisfied, you're out, got it?"  
She nodded.

"Good. You'll have to take the agent test to be able to go into the field; the next one is in four months. Until then, you'll have access to the training center, so spend some time training. Also, find a place in the city to stay at when you have time away from base. But first, leave the ship and go get your daughter."  
Natasha nodded, and stood up. She walked by Fury and into the hall, where she found Clint waiting for her.

"Hey, Partner!"  
Natasha shot him a look that said she wasn't pleased with his behavior, and if he knew what was good for him, he'd knock it off.

He chuckled as he led her back to the deck, where he showed her the plane they'd be using.

She was surprised when she saw that the plane was empty, and even more surprised when he got in the pilot's seat, and gestured for her to join him in the co-pilot seat.

He started the plane and took off before he spoke.

"Where are we headed?"  
She gave him a look asking if anyone else was listening, and he shook his head.

"Do you know Professor Xavier?" He nodded. "Then take us there."

He nodded again and pointed the plane in the correct direction.

"How do you know Xavier?"  
"He came to Russia once, and we ran into each other. He saw me with her, and said that if I ever needed to get her out, he'd help. He gave ma phone number, and walked away. I was never going to use it, but I started worrying that the Red Room knew I'd kept her, so I called him and he came to pick her up."  
"What do you mean, they knew you kept her?"  
"For some reason, when they found out I was pregnant they told me to keep the baby. But after she was born, and I'd seen her and held her, they told me to get rid of her. I pretended that I'd given her up, but I managed to keep her hidden, at least somewhat."  
Clint nodded, and they spent the rest of the flight in silence.

* * *

Finally the plane began to descend, and Clint landed it just outside the school gates. Once they disembarked, Natasha put in the code Xavier had given her, and the gates opened. They walked to the front door, and told the person who opened it that they were there to speak to Xavier.

A boy led them down a hallway, before showing them into the professor's office.

10 minutes later, Xavier came into the office, followed by a little girl.

"Мама!"  
"Привет, милая." _'Hi, sweetie.'  
_"Мама отвезти меня домой?" _'Mommy take me home?'  
_"Нет, не домой, в Россию. Мы собираемся пойти в новый дом." _'No, not home to Russia. We're going to a new home.'  
_"Где?" _'Where?'  
_"Где-то, где мы будем в безопасности." _'Somewhere where we'll both be safe.'  
_"Россия не безопасно?" _'Russia not safe?'  
_"Не больше, милая." _'Not anymore, Sweetie.'_

The little girl nodded, and allowed her mother to pick her up and carry her from the room.

Clint thanked Xavier as he was handed the girl's things, and the three of them made their way out of the school and back to the plane.

"Мама, кто он?" _'Mommy, who he?'  
_"We work together now Mommy got a new job."

Lexi nodded, and looked Clint over.

"Hi. Who you?"  
"Привет. Я Клинт." _'Hi. I'm Clint."  
_"Русский!" _'Russian!'_

Natasha laughed as they boarded the plane. She decided to forgo sitting next to Clint, in favor of sitting in the back with her daughter.

The first bit of the flight passed in silence, and Lexi fell asleep quickly.

"Barton?"  
"Yeah, Natasha?"  
"Where should we live?"  
"I'll help you look for apartments this week. Until then, you guys can stay with me. I've got a couple extra rooms you can use."  
Natasha was silent. She knew that if he was going to kill them, he would have done it already, but she was still nervous.

Clint seemed to know what her silence meant, because he continued talking after a moment of quiet.

"I promise, nothing will happen. You'll both be safe there."  
"Fine."

Natasha turned her attention back to her sleeping daughter, and missed the smile that was spreading across Clint's face.

As strange as it had sounded when she'd admitted that she had a daughter, after seeing the two of them together, Clint decided that he was going to keep both of them safe, even if his new partner didn't want him to.

* * *

**Well, there's the first chapter. I think I'll write at least a few more, at least until you guys say you don't like it.**

**I also tried a new thing with the English translations being placed directly after the quote; so let me know if you prefer that or putting all the translations at the end.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

It took Natasha two weeks to find a place to live where she felt both she and Lexi would be safe. It wasn't anything great, just a small house with three bedrooms in a cookie cutter neighborhood.

Although she'd never admit it, she was actually sad as Clint helped move her in. She'd gotten used to living at his place, and so had Lexi. And the biggest surprise, at least for Natasha was that she actually felt safe around him.

She didn't trust him yet, of course, but it was a step in the right direction.

The moths flew by, and suddenly it was time for the physical aspect of the agent test. Natasha had been practicing constantly, both with Clint and without, and had even started teaching Lexi basic gymnastics and fighting skills, just in case.

When she arrived at HQ, she received many strange looks from the other agents around her, partly because they'd never stopped after her first encounter on the ship, and partly because she was carrying her daughter, who was currently babbling in Russian about one of the stupid boys at her preschool.

Natasha cracked a smile when she saw Clint waiting in the hallway, but managed to pass it off as smiling at her daughter. If she was being honest, Natasha was happy to have someone that could kind of be considered a friend.

"ястреб!" _'Hawk!'_ Lexi shrieked when she saw him. Natasha was surprised with how easily Lexi had gotten used to Clint. It was remarkable really, since her daughter was exactly like her, and didn't really trust anybody.

"Hey, Lex. You want to hang out with me while your mom's working?"  
"Да!" _'Yeah!'_

Both adults smiled, and Natasha set Lexi down so she could run to Clint. Clint lifted the girl off the ground and tickled her, causing giggles to erupt from the girl's mouth.

Natasha walked over to stand next to them, running her fingers through Lexi's hair.

"You ready?"  
She looked up and saw slight concern in Clint's eyes, "Yeah."  
"You nervous?"

Natasha gave him a look that clearly told him he was stupid.

"Right, stupid question."

She smiled at him, one of the few real smiles she showed.

He jerked his head towards the training center, where the test would take place.

She nodded, and followed as he made his way to the room.

She looked in the window and saw a few other potential agents inside, warming up.

"You need to warm up?"  
"No. I don't want to give them anything."  
Clint chuckled, but she figured he agreed with her, because he didn't push it.

"Better head in. Don't want to be late."  
Natasha sighed but nodded. She pulled Lexi from Clint's arms and gave her daughter a hug, which her daughter returned. Lexi then kissed the tip of Natasha's nose. Natasha smiled, and returned the gesture.

"Будьте добры, милая. Оставайтесь с Клинтом и мы пойдем получить обед, когда я сделал, хорошо?" _'Be good, sweetie. Stay with Clint and we'll go get dinner when I'm done, ok?'_

Lexi nodded and smiled. Natasha kissed her daughter's cheek again, before giving Lexi back to Clint.

Clint smiled at both of them, and just as Natasha was turning away, he grabbed her hand. When she turned around, he pulled her hand up to his face, and gently kissed her knuckles.

He swore he saw a flicker of a smile, but a second later it was gone, and Natasha had stepped into the training room.

* * *

"Is everyone here?"

The man standing in front of the recruits clearly wasn't expecting a response.

"Good. Lets get started. You will each spar with someone, winner moves on to spar with the next person. The winner gets to come in tomorrow and take the written portion, the rest of you have to try again next time. That's right. Only one of you is moving on today."  
Silence was the only response.

Natasha took a look around. She was the only female in the group. Most of the others were very muscular, and very cocky. She resisted the urge to smile as she thought of how easy it would be to take them down.

"So, who wants to go first?"  
One of the biggest guys raised his hand, and the man nodded at him.

"Pick your partner."  
_Oh, this will be good. Go for the easiest takedown._

She was right of course, the guy looked around at all the recruits surrounding him, and his eyes landed on Natasha.

"You."

She tried her best to look nervous, hoping to trick the man into thinking she couldn't beat him.

The rest of the recruits stepped back, giving the two of them ample room.

They faced each other, gauging their opponent. Natasha allowed him to make the first move. He ran at her, reaching out to grab her arm and throw her down. She hit the ground hard, but only stayed down for a moment, before using his momentum against him, and throwing him off of her.

They stood again, and Natasha decided she'd had enough. She charged at him, and flew through the air, locking her legs around his neck, careful not to snap it, and sent him straight to the ground. She shoved her knee into his shoulder, keeping him on the ground for the next 5 seconds, long enough to beat him.

When she let him up, he seemed shocked, as did the rest of the newbies. He stumbled his way to the senior agents sitting at the front of the room, who dismissed him.

Natasha selected her next target, a scrawny guy she took down in 7 seconds.

She worked her way through the rest of the recruits. She didn't stick to a particular pattern, sometimes she'd pick the smallest person left, sometimes the biggest, but she always took them down. She never used the same method twice either, avoiding any possibility of them learning her moves.

Finally it was just Natasha and the last person, a man slightly taller than herself. He was muscled, but not overly so.

They stalked each other in a circle, taking each other in.

Finally, he charged. She ducked his punches, and jumped over his kicks. She got a few good hits in, before grabbing his leg and tripping him, forcing him to land on his back. He stayed down for the requisite time, meaning that Natasha had beaten all the other recruits, not that she'd doubted she could.

"Name."  
"Natasha Romanoff."  
"Come back tomorrow to take the test."

* * *

She nodded, and walked out of the room. Clint and Lexi were waiting for her, both looking very impressed.

"Хорошая работа, мама!" _'Good job, Mommy!'  
_"Thank you, sweetie."

Natasha pulled her daughter from Clint's arms as the three of them made their way out the door.

"You guys going to get food?"  
"Yeah. You want to come with us?"  
Clint shrugged and nodded.

They all piled into Natasha's car and set off for a diner nearby.

Once they had their food, they all realized how hungry they were. Lexi had eaten some snacks earlier, but Natasha and Clint hadn't eaten since breakfast.

When they were done, Natasha invited Clint back to their house for dessert. Clint tried to decline, but Lexi had forced him to come with them.

"Alright, Lex, I'll come."  
The little girl smiled at Clint, and he reached out and gently tapped her nose, resulting in Lexi squealing.

Once they'd paid they piled back into the car and set off for Natasha's house.

When they arrived, Natasha told Clint to make himself comfortable while she put Lexi into her pajamas.

She carried her daughter into her bedroom, and helped her daughter undress, before pulling Lexi's _Beauty and the Beast _nightgown over her head. She pulled out the two waist-length braids she'd done earlier, and gently brushed out the tangles, leaving Lexi's hair flowing down her back.  
When the reentered the living room, they found Clint sitting on the sofa, watching a movie. Upon closer inspection, Natasha realized that it was Lilo and Stich, one of Lexi's favorites.

Lexi noticed to, and after an excited squeal, she'd clambered onto the couch next to Clint, and leaned her head into his side. Clint shifted so that his arm was wrapped around the almost three-year-old.

Natasha went to the freezer and grabbed popsicles for all of them, and came to sit on the other side of her daughter as they ate.

When the movie was over, Lexi was practically asleep, so Natasha carried her into her bedroom.

"Мама?"  
"Yes, дорогая?" _Yes sweetie?  
_"ястреб прийти слишком?" _'Hawk come too?'  
_"If he wants to."

Natasha looked at Clint as she spoke, and saw him shrug slightly, but he got up off the couch and followed them anyways.

Once they got into Lexi's room, Natasha set her daughter on the bed and helped her under the covers, before lying on one side, while Clint sat on the other.

Lexi rested her head on her mom's shoulders while Natasha played with her daughter's hair.

"Do you want a song or a story?"  
"Song."

Natasha smiled, and began to sing. It was a Russian song, that much Clint could tell. He wasn't particularly focused on the words, although he gathered that the song was Natasha telling her daughter that she loved the little girl. What Clint was focused on was the voice that came out of Natasha's mouth. As corny as it sounded, Clint swore that Natasha's voice was that of an angel.

When the song was over, Lexi's eyes were closed, and her breathing even. Clint stood up, giving Natasha a moment alone with her daughter.

Natasha watched Clint walk away, slightly confused. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a sweet voice.

"Мама?"  
"Yes, дорогая?" _Yes sweetie?  
_"Я люблю ястреба. Может ли он быть моим папа?" _'I love Hawk. Can he be my daddy?'_

Natasha was caught completely off guard by Lexi's comment. She knew that Clint cared for her daughter, and vice versa, but she hadn't thought it was quite this deep.

"I don't know, Lexi."  
"Вы можете спросить его?" _" 'Can you ask him?'  
_"Yeah, I can."  
"Спасибо мама" _'Thank you, Mommy.'  
_"You're welcome, now sleep."

Lexi nodded as she squirmed farther under her covers. Natasha picked up her Pooh Bear from where it had fallen and gave it to her daughter, who pulled it tightly to her chest. Before she walked out, Natasha pressed a kiss to Lexi's forehead. She shut off the light, and left the door open just a crack, allowing minimal lighting into Lexi's room.

When she returned to the living room, Clint was watching a rerun on NCIS, so Natasha made her way to sit next to him.

"You didn't have to leave."  
"I thought I'd give you some time alone."  
"Thanks."  
"Don't worry about it."  
They fell in to silence, and Natasha felt the urge to tell him what Lexi had said, but she didn't know how he'd react.

When the episode ended, Clint stretched and stood up, saying goodnight. As he was walking to the front door, Natasha stopped him.

"Do you want to stay here?"  
"What?"  
"It's late. And there's an extra room. Plus you don't have your car."  
"I can get a taxi, Nat."  
"Don't bother. Really, I don't mind."

Clint thought it over, and finally decided to accept. So he nodded and made his way to the extra bedroom.

As she was following him, Clint's comment came back to her.

She found him in the bathroom attached to the extra bedroom, a feature each bedroom had.

"What the hell was that?"  
"What was what?"  
"_Nat?_ What was that?"  
"It's called a nickname, Nat." Clint responded, adding extra emphasis to the name.  
"It's annoying. My name is Natasha."  
"You don't call your daughter Alexis."  
"That's different."  
"How so?"  
"She's two. And she's my daughter."  
"You're not two. And you're my partner."  
"Barton."  
"Tasha."  
"Really? Another one?"  
"Yeah."

Natasha sighed. She knew Clint well enough to know that he wasn't going to stop, and though she was loathe to admit it, she kind of liked that he cared enough about her to give her a nickname. Let alone two.

As she was turning to walk away, Clint spoke.

"Did you and Lex talk about anything fun after I left?"  
Natasha turned around and locked eyes with Clint. She debated telling him, finally deciding to just get it over with.

"She told me that she loved you."  
That clearly wasn't what Clint had been expecting. "She did?"  
"Yeah. And she asked me if…" Natasha had no idea how to continue.  
"What did she ask?"  
She sighed. _Better get it over with_.  
"She asked if you could be her daddy."

Clint was absolutely shocked, that much was obvious. But Natasha also thought she saw hope in his eyes.

"What did you tell her?"  
"I told her it was up to you."  
"Really? Would you mind?"  
"No. Honestly, there's no one else I'd rather have as a part of her life."  
"Really? Why?"  
"Really. Because well… because I trust you."  
As soon as the words left her mouth, Natasha was shocked. But amidst the shock, she realized that the words were true.

"You trust me?"  
"I do."  
"Why?"  
"You didn't kill me. And when you found out about Lexi, you didn't try to kill her either."

Clint nodded, knowing that what she'd just told him was important. He knew that as an assassin, Natasha didn't trust many people, if she trusted any.

"Thank you."  
Natasha nodded in response, before turning and walking back to her room.

As Clint fell asleep, he couldn't stop smiling. Lexi wanted him as her dad. That information alone meant the world to him. He'd known from the moment he'd met the little girl that he cared about her, that he'd do anything for her. What he hadn't realized was that he cared even more for Natasha.

He didn't know when it started, but he realized that he was falling in love with Natasha. He also knew that Natasha would probably never reciprocate the feelings, but he also knew that that would be ok with him, as long as she would still be his friend.

Clint decided that he wouldn't tell her about his growing feelings, unless she said something similar first. There was no way he was going to ruin the trust Natasha had in him.

That was another reason he couldn't stop smiling. Natasha trusted him. Enough to let him sleep in her house two rooms away from her daughter. That meant the world to Clint. He knew it wasn't complete trust yet, but it was something he could build on.

As he fell asleep, he couldn't help but think of all the fun times he would have with Lexi, and hopefully, Natasha.

**Yay for chapter 2! Hopefully you guys liked it, and I really hope that it wasn't too out of character.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A huge thanks to malmal86 for pointing out that I'd let this chapter out! I wrote it, and thought I'd added it, but apparently I didn't, so thank you. :)  
Enjoy!**

* * *

Clint easily fell into his role as Lexi's father. Once Natasha was a confirmed agent, the three of them spent the majority of their time together, often at Clint or Natasha's house, or else in the training center sparring or teaching Lexi.

Of course, not everyone was so happy that the three of them were together constantly. There were still the people that didn't think Natasha should be an agent, but that number dwindled after each successful mission. Then there were the agents that continued to lust after Clint and Natasha, all wondering why they'd picked each other as fuck buddies. The answer was simple, really: they weren't.

Sure, there was mutual attraction, and early on Natasha had tried to repay the debt she felt she owed through sex, but Clint had refused, telling her that wasn't why he hadn't killed her.

In all honesty, Clint would love to be with Natasha, but he'd promised himself that he wouldn't act on the feelings until she did, and he didn't enjoy breaking his promises.

So Clint was content to protect both Lexi and Natasha, as much as they did or didn't need it.

There were really only three people who didn't seem to mind Lexi's existence, once they'd gotten used to it, or Natasha's status as an agent. Fury, Coulson, and Hill were the only ones who were ever pleased to see Lexi at HQ, and Natasha found that although she didn't trust them as much as she trusted Clint, it was nice to have other people that could help ensure her daughter's safety.

And so the months passed, Natasha and Clint fell into a groove, learning practically everything about each other. They went on mission after mission together and Natasha found that she actually enjoyed having a partner, or at least she did when that partner was at least halfway competent and not intent on killing her.

Lexi's fourth birthday came and went. Clint and Natasha held a small party at Clint's place, inviting only Coulson, Hill, and Fury, and they spent the day playing and coloring with Lexi.

Natasha thought she was growing up too quickly. Her hair remained waist length, and just as red, while her face matured somewhat, as much as any four-year-old's face matures, and her bright green eyes matched her pale skin perfectly. She was slightly taller than most girls her age, but not freakishly so. She was skinnier than most as well, although she ate like a full-grown man. She simply had enough energy to burn off whatever she ate; something Natasha hoped would stick throughout her life.

She was smart too, although most parents think that of their child. But by the time Lexi had turned 4, she was fluent in Russian and English, along with French and Spanish, and was in the process of learning Italian. She could carry on conversations with only the slightest of grammatical errors. Clint chose to believe her skill with languages was proof that she was exceptionally smart, but Natasha always said it was just because Lexi talked a lot, and Natasha didn't want to have to listen to someone talking incessantly while making numerous grammatical errors.

Although there were a few preschools SHIELD recommended for their agents' children, Natasha had tried them and decided that she much preferred having Lexi with her. And when she and Clint were on a mission, Maria and Phil were always more than willing to take her, although Phil ended up spending most of his time making sure that his two best agents returned safely.

And so their pattern went, working out together, going on missions together, occasionally living together, but never dating. And of course there was the occasional drama that having a four-year-old entailed, but Natasha found that it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. And if it was, she could always send Lexi off to Maria and Phil for the night, but that had only happened once, and Lexi _had_ asked to go.

It was a good system overall. Which, of course, meant that something had to change.

They were in the training room one day, teaching Lexi how to do front and back walkovers, when Coulson came in.

"Fury wants to see you both. I'll make sure Lex doesn't get in much trouble."  
Natasha and Clint nodded and made their way to the director's office after giving Lexi a quick kiss each.

"You wanted to see us, sir?"  
"Yes. We have two missions you're needed on. As a person can't be in two places at once, we're splitting you up."  
Natasha did her best not to show the shock that she felt. She'd come to rely on Clint during missions, if for no other reason than to make her laugh during stakeouts. She could barely even remember the last mission she'd been on without Clint.

_This is going to _suck.

Natasha was pulled out of her thoughts by Clint's voice.

"No."  
"I'm sorry?"  
"No. You want us going on two separate missions at the same time, and I'm saying no."  
"And why's that, Barton?"  
"Lexi."  
"Beg Pardon?"  
"Lexi. We'll not both leave her for two different missions. So pick whichever one is most important."  
"You leave her alone on all your other missions. Why are you fighting this one?"  
"On all our other missions, we've got each other's backs. We're always able to make sure that at least one of us makes it out. This will be completely different. We could both be killed, leaving Lexi with no one. And I won't leave my daughter without both her parents."  
"Touching as that may be, Barton, you're not actually the girl's father."  
Clint knew Fury wasn't saying it to be mean, but that didn't stop the rage he felt.

"Like hell I'm not." He practically yelled, banging his fist on the table. "You go tell Lex that I'm not her father, and see what she does."  
"Clint." It was the first time Natasha had spoken since stepping into the office. Her voice was no more than a whisper, but it carried a clear threat.

Clint turned around to look at her, and the softness in her eyes made him calm down almost immediately.  
He slowly turned back to his boss, determined to get his eay without losing his temper again.

"Sorry, Sir. But I stand by my statement. Solo missions are a part of the job, but we will not be sent on solo missions at the same time. So whichever one is the most important will happen. For the other, it can either wait, or someone else can do it."  
Fury sighed. He knew Clint had a point. And he didn't want to risk making Lexi an orphan.

"Fine. Romanoff, you have a mission. The file is in your room, wheels up in 5 hours."  
He nodded to the pair of them, and they left the office, making their way back to the training center.

Clint knew Natasha was annoyed, or at least he figured she was. He decided it was in his best interest to head off whatever rant was coming his way.

"I'm sorry, Tasha."  
"For what?"  
"For losing my temper. I know Fury was right, and I had no right saying what I did. I know Lexi isn't technically mine, but I love her, and I don't want her to ever get hurt."  
Natasha smiled slightly at him, but didn't say anything to him. Instead, she turned down a hall that would take them to her quarters, and once she'd keyed in her code, gestured for him to enter.

As soon as she closed the door, she stepped in front of Clint. She stared at him for a moment, apparently warring with something. Suddenly, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Clint was surprised to say the least, but after a moment, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his body, allowing her to bury her nose in his chest.

Natasha lost track of how long they stood there, but she was finally able to remember the rest of her reason for hugging him. Much to Clint's disappointment, she pulled away slightly so that she could look at him.

"Thank you."  
"For what?"  
"For caring enough about our daughter to demand that we not have solo missions at the same time. For demanding that she always have at least one parent coming home to her."  
Clint smiled at her words. "Our daughter?"  
Natasha smiled sheepishly, but nodded anyway. "I guess so, yeah. I was actually wondering if you wanted to adopt her. Make it official?"  
Clint's eyes lit up at the prospect. "Of course, Tash."  
And then he couldn't help himself, he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.

As he pulled away, he seemed to have realized what had just happened, and one look at his face told Natasha everything she needed to know.

"I won't hit you for that, Barton. Given our previous discussion, I'll admit that it was warranted. Just don't make a habit of it."  
"I wouldn't dream of it, Nat."  
"Good. This doesn't mean we're in a relationship either."  
"I never said it did. I don't want that from you, Tasha." _At least not until you're ready_ "I just want you to trust me."  
"You know I already trust you."  
"And that's all I need to know." _For now._

She smiled at him again, before packing what she'd need. When she was done, they made their way back to the training room, where they found Lexi on the beam, with Coulson and Hill on either side of her, while she did back walkovers along the beam.

"Мама!"  
"Hi, Lexi. What are you doing?"  
"I do them on the beam! Maria help me!"  
Natasha looked at Hill for confirmation, and the other woman nodded, if not sheepishly.

"She got them on the floor, and wanted to try them up here. I used to do gymnastics as well, so I knew how to start her off. There's not a low beam, so we had her use one of the lines on the floor, and she had to do 50 on that, without stepping off. Once she did, I helped her up here. She hasn't so much as stumbled once."  
Natasha smiled at Hill in thanks and turned back to her daughter "Good job, Lexi."  
"Thanks, Мама!"

The little girl held her arms out to Maria, who helped her off the beam and set her on the floor. Lexi ran to her mother and gave her a hug.

"Is Мама and Папа going to work?"  
"Just me, Lexi. Папа is going to stay with you while I'm gone, ok?"

Lexi nodded and hugged her mother again.

"Romanoff, it's time to go."  
Natasha sighed, but nodded anyways. She lifted Lexi off the floor, and carried her out to the flight deck, stopping to make sure she had ear protection before actually going outside. Clint followed behind her carrying her bag and followed her and Coulson onto a plane.

Once they were inside, Lexi was able to take the ear protection off.

"Vous serez une bonne fille, non?"_ 'You'll be a good girl, right?'  
_"Oui, maman. Voy a ser una chica muy buena." _'Yes, мама_, _I'll be a very good girl.'_

Natasha smiled at Lexi's response, still not quite understanding why her daughter enjoyed mixing Spanish and French.

She told Lexi to hug Phil goodbye, and the little girl scampered off towards the front of the plane, leaving Clint and Natasha alone at the back of the plane.

"I won't waste my energy telling you to be safe."  
"I appreciate that."  
"But I will tell you that if you get yourself killed, I'll be very annoyed."  
Natasha smiled, "I'll try not to do that then."  
"I'd appreciate it."  
Without thinking, Clint pulled her into another hug, this one slightly less intimate, but still just as special.

There was one thing left that Natasha wanted to say, but Lexi had returned, and for some reason, she didn't want the little girl to know just yet. So Natasha thought for a moment before picking a language that Lexi wouldn't learn for at least a few years.

"Beidh muid cúram a ghlacadh de na páipéir a ghlacadh nuair a rachaidh mé ar ais, ceart go leor?" _'We'll take care of the adoption papers when I get back, ok?'  
_"ceart go leor." _'Ok.'_

She smiled at him once again, before picking Lexi up for another kiss.

"Я люблю тебя, Алексис Виктория Романова" _'I love you, Alexis Viktoriya Romanoff.'  
_"I love you too, Мама"

With one last kiss, Natasha handed her daughter to Clint, and the two of them stepped off the plane after Lexi put her ear protection back on.

After they watched her plane take off, Clint turned to Lexi, finally realizing that he was in charge of her until Natasha returned.

"What do you want to do now, Lex?"  
"I want to go home, please."  
Clint nodded, and they made their way back to Natasha's house.

* * *

The first week of the mission passed smoothly. Coulson was able to keep Barton updated on Natasha, and Natasha was allowed to call every night for 30 minutes. She always called right before Lexi's bedtime, and once the little girl had fallen asleep, it was Clint's turn to talk, and Natasha could pretend that it was him cracking jokes over comms, rather than him cracking jokes over the phone, thousands of miles away.

After the first week was up, Natasha was no longer allowed to call, since she had only one day left on her mission, and her full attention was required.

Clint put Lexi to bed as normal, and made his way to the couch to watch NCIS reruns.

He must have dozed off, because he was jolted awake by someone crying. With a start, he remembered that the only other person in the house was Lexi. He jumped up from the couch and ran towards her room. As he got closer, he heard words mixed in with her tears, and with a pang, he realized that Lexi was crying for her mother.

"Мама! Мама! Мама!"

Clint carefully pushed opened the door to her room, and found her still asleep, her body curled into a tight ball.

_Shit! She's having a nightmare! What the fuck am I supposed to do?_

Clint decided that whatever it was, she didn't need for it to continue, so her gently shook Lexi awake.

Her eyes fluttered open, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"Мама?"  
"No, Lexi. Мама's on a mission, remember?"  
Lexi nodded, and before Clint knew what was happening, she'd thrown herself into his arms, burrowing her face in his chest.

"Lexi, did you have a nightmare?"  
She didn't say anything, just nodded her head.

"Do you want to talk about it?"  
He was somewhat surprised when she nodded again, and situated herself so that she was sitting on his lap and he was able to hear her.

"Do you want to go sit in Мама's bed?"  
Lexi nodded again and wrapped her arms around Clint's neck as he scooped her off the bed and carried her to Natasha's room. He'd been sleeping on the couch during his stay. He could have used the guest room, but he'd been falling asleep in front of the TV before he could make it that far.

Natasha's bed was neatly made, and Clint pulled back the covers slightly so that he and Lexi could crawl under them. Lexi seemed to have different ideas, however, and refused to let go of Clint, so her ended up sitting in Natasha's bed with Lexi on his lap.

"You want to talk about your nightmare still?"  
Lexi nodded and started talking. "It's about the men in Russia."  
"What men?"  
"The men who came to the house one day. Мама was out working, and I was with the old lady who lived next door. Her granddaughter had been taken by the Red Room, and Мама promised that she'd keep an eye on her, if she watched me and didn't tell anyone I existed. One day, I was playing at her house, and I remembered that I'd left my new coloring book at home. I begged and pleaded, until she agreed to take me home to get it. While we were inside, the men came to the house, and broke in. we were both in my bedroom when it happened, and the old lady realized what was going on. She shut my door quietly and grabbed me around the waist and carried me to the window as she climbed out. There was another man outside, and he saw us and told the others. She tried to run back to her house, but they still shot her. She managed to get me back to her house, and into the basement where they couldn't find us. She was still barely alive when Мама came to pick me up. Once the old lady told her what had happened, Мама told her thank you for protecting me, and then told her that her granddaughter had been sent out on a mission the day before, and had been killed. The old lady thanked Мама, and died. Мама hugged me and called someone on her phone while she held me tightly. We spent the next 3 days in the old lady's basement, until Professor X came and took me to his school. But as we were driving away, we drove by our house, and I could see the men in my room, going through my things. They saw us drive by and started shooting, figuring it was Мама and me. I saw one of them say that I was in the car, and thy needed to follow it. And they did. They followed us all the way to the airport. There was a man there, and Professor X told me he'd keep me safe, so I went with him. He did keep me safe, all the bullets they shot at me were sent elsewhere. But I still heard what one of them shouted. He shouted, 'It's the slut's daughter. Kill her. We don't need another lying slut in the Red Room.'"  
Lexi paused here, and Clint was appalled at her story. He knew Natasha had enemies, but even among the worst assassins, intentionally killing a helpless child wasn't condoned.

"I still dream that they got Мама and me. And they torture Мама and make me watch. I can't do anything except cry. But every time I cry, one of them hits me and says, 'Don't cry, little slut. It won't help you.'"

Clint hugged Lexi to his chest and kissed the top of her head. They sat there in silence for a while as Clint tried to process what he'd been told.

Finally, he decided it was time to try to get Lexi back to sleep.

"You're not tired anymore, are you?"  
"No."  
"Do you want to watch a Pooh Bear movie?"  
Lexi nodded, and Clint carried her back to the living room, where he put the movie on. He sat Lexi on the couch to watch as he went and grabbed her Pooh Bear, handing it to the girl before heading to the kitchen to get some apple juice for Lexi and some water for himself.

Lexi smiled at him when he handed her the juice, and drank it quickly, finishing as Clint finished his water. He moved Lexi off the couch for a moment so he could lie down, and then helped her climb on top of him, using his chest as a pillow. He managed to get the blanket up form the foot of the couch and around Lexi's shoulders with minimal effort, tucking it around themselves. He began stroking her hair as they both nodded off, finally succumbing to sleep as the end credits rolled.

* * *

Natasha Romanoff was dead tired. She'd managed to get her mission done early, and had also convinced Fury that a quick debriefing was in his best interests. As soon as she was done, she'd left HQ, making her way back to her house, desperately wanting to see her daughter.

When she walked into the living room, she was slightly shocked to see Clint lying on the couch with the TV on, and Lexi lying on top of him, arm wrapped tightly around her Pooh Bear as her head rested just above his heart. A quick look at the movie case told her that they'd fallen asleep to one of the Pooh Bear movies, and a small smile crept over Natasha's face, until she realized what had caused the two of them to move out to he couch in the first place.

_Dammit. She had another nightmare._

Natasha had been hoping that Lexi's nightmares had ended, but as she made her way to her bedroom to drop off her things, she realized that she'd been wrong.

She quickly changed into comfy pajamas and made her way back to the living room. She picked up Lexi's juice glass, and Clint's water glass, taking them back to the kitchen and placing them in the dishwasher. She reentered, about to turn off the TV when she heard a mumble.

"Tasha?"  
She turned around and found Clint squinting at her.  
"Hey, Clint. How was she?"  
"Great. She had a nightmare tonight, but other than that, she was fine."  
Natasha made her way over to sit on the floor by his head, carefully reaching up to gently touch Lexi's cheek.

"She's usually ok if I sing her to sleep. But I couldn't call last night."  
"It's ok, Tasha. I heard her, and when she woke up, I asked if she wanted to tell me about it, and she did. Then I got her juice, and we watched Pooh Bear."  
Natasha smiled at his simplistic retelling, realizing that it could be that simple.

"Thank you, Clint."  
"Don't worry about it, Tasha. Especially if you were telling the truth earlier."  
"About you adopting her? Of course I was."  
"What's that mean?" Lexi's voice startled Natasha slightly, but she turned her attention to her daughter anyway.  
"What does what mean, Sweetie?"  
"Adopting? What's it mean?"

Natasha sighed. She hadn't wanted to tell Lexi like this, but she realized almost immediately that it didn't matter how they told her, since she already thought of Clint as her father.

"It means Clint's going to sign some papers so he can be your daddy."  
"But he's already my daddy."  
"I know he is, but the state needs to know he is, too."  
"Why?"  
"I really don't know. It just makes things easier for them."  
It wasn't much of an explanation, but the four-year-old shrugged her shoulders and accepted it.

Natasha smiled as Lexi began to fall asleep again. She stood and lifted her daughter off Clint, hugging her tightly. After a moment, Lexi reciprocated, hugging her mother back.

"I missed you, Bug."  
"I missed you too, Мама."  
Natasha smiled as she carried Lexi back to her room, and tucked the little girl in, softly singing to her.

Once Lexi was asleep again, Natasha made her way back to the living room and found Clint still lying on the couch.

"Oi, Barton. Get your ass up."  
Clint opened one eye slightly, and glared at Natasha.

"Seriously. Come on, up."  
Clint groaned, but allowed Natasha to pull him to his feet. He followed her blindly, until he realized that she was leading him to her bedroom.

"Tasha, what are you doing?"  
"I just had a shit mission, Barton. And after every shit mission I've recently had, my partner usually crawls into bed with me and holds me, so that I can actually sleep. Unless you don't want to.

"No, if you need me that badly, I guess I can help." He responded cheekily.  
"Cheeky bastard."  
"That's me."  
Natasha sighed as she climbed into her bed, motioning for Clint to get in behind her. He complied, wrapping his arm around her slender waist, allowing her to scoot as close to his body as she wanted.

They lay in silence for a while, until Clint decided he needed a question answered.

"Why was it a shit mission, Tash? I thought it was just a seduce the mark, get in, get out."  
"It was."  
"Then why was it a shit mission?"  
"Because, I wasn't able to see my daughter or my partner for a week."  
"If I didn't know any better, Tasha, I'd say you missed us."  
"I definitely missed Lexi, I'm not so sure about you, though." She joked.

"Oh, you wound me!"  
"Shove it, Barton."  
"Yes, ma'am."  
She kicked her heel into his shin, causing him to curse softly.

"Fine, I get your point."  
"Good."  
"Goodnight, Tasha."  
"Goodnight, Clint."  
And thus began a tradition that would last until Budapest. After every mission, whether it was a solo mission or not, Natasha would find some reason that it had been a "shit mission", giving her a reason to have Clint share her bed.

It felt good to know that she had someone who she could rely on in times like these. Times where she just needed someone to be there for her, even if she didn't quite know how to ask. Of course, it never went any farther than just him holding her. At least, it never went farther than him holding her until the mission in Budapest was over, and they decided to throw caution to the wind.

* * *

**So here it is! Sorry I forgot to add it originally. I hope you guys all like it, since I really do!  
Also, I realize that it's a little weird that I keep referring to what Lexi was wear as 'ear protection' but while I can picture exactly what I'm thinking of, I don't have a name for them, other than headphones or earmuffs. Headphones imply music, at least to me, so that didn't make sense. And, as someone who's lived in Arizona her whole life, I picture earmuffs as something you wear when it snows, something Phoenix doesn't have in abundance, so that didn't seem right either. And that, dear readers, is why it says ear protection over and over again. If any of you lovelies want to leave a review with another suggestion, that would be lovely. I might even dedicate the next chapter I add to whoever comes up with the best one. Meaning funniest. So leave a review with what you think they should be called, and you might get a chapter dedicated to you. **

**Sorry for the long A/N. I just can't help myself sometimes.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the slow update. I've been kind of busy decorating for Christmas. But now that that's done, I should be able to get the next chapter out quickly.**

**Sorry this one's so short, it's more of a filler chapter, really. But hopefully it's still just as good.**

* * *

"Алексей, если вы не хотите, чтобы я тянуть ваши волосы, вы должны сидеть на месте." _'Alexis, if you don't want me to pull your hair, you have to sit still.'  
_"Извини, мама"_ 'Sorry, Mommy.'  
_"Все в порядке, дорогая. Просто сидеть на месте." _'It's ok, Sweetie. Just sit still.'_

Lexi stopped squirming, allowing Natasha to gently pull the brush through her daughter's waist length curls. When she was done brushing Lexi's hair, she parted it in the middle and did two French braids in her hair.

"Alright, Lexi, your hair is done. Just try not to run around and ruin it. _Again_."  
Lexi giggled at her mother's exasperated tone. "Sorry, мама."  
Natasha smiled as she kissed her daughter's head. She lifted the girl from the bed and set her on the floor.  
"Can I go play with папа now?"  
"Yes. But remember, people are arriving at 4:00, so you need to be ready to greet them, ok?"  
Lexi nodded her head before scampering out of Clint and Natasha's bedroom in search of the man who'd become her father.

Natasha sighed as she thought over the past two years or so. She'd passed the rest of her agent test, not that there had been any doubt she would, on Lexi's third birthday no less. She'd been partnered with Clint, somewhat surprised that Fury had actually made them partners, and they'd gone on a few missions together and discovered that they were a great team. One of the best actually. Clint had taken very well to being Lexi's father figure, and it was clear that the little girl loved him. Everyone seemed to have gotten used to Natasha's daughter, and many couldn't help but fall in love with her. She had Director Fury and Agents Coulson and Hill wrapped around her finger, along with her parents.

Thinking of herself and Clint as Lexi's parents brought a smile to Natasha's face as she thought of the natural chemistry they had. It hadn't taken them long to figure out that they were attracted to each other, but neither one wanted their working relationship to be ruined if a personal relationship ended.

While on a mission in Budapest, they both realized how stupid that fear had been, and had been together ever since the mission.

Natasha was pulled from her thoughts when she heard giggling not far down the hall. As she stepped out of the bedroom, she found Clint standing in the hallway with Lexi draped over his shoulder so that she was hanging upside down while Clint tickled her.

"Clint. What are you doing?"  
"Well, Tash, it would seem that our daughter thought it would be fun to start a tickle fight, didn't you, Lex?"  
"Yep!"

Natasha tried to keep a straight face, but found it increasingly difficult. Finally she couldn't hold it in any longer, laughter burst from her mouth. It really wasn't her fault; Lexi's laughter was infectious.

She made her way to the two of them and took Lexi from Clint's arms, telling her that it was time to change for the party.

She carried the squirming 5-year-old down the hall to her room where her party outfit was waiting. It was a simple light blue dress with an attached cardigan that had sequins sewn into it. When Lexi was dressed, Natasha took out the braids and decided that instead of having to re-do them for the 5th time that day, it would be easier to leave Lexi's hair down, and brush out any knots that appeared. So she brushed her daughter's hair until it shone, and stuck a black sparkly headband in her hair in an effort to keep it out of her face.

Just as they were leaving Lexi's room, she heard the guests arrive. They made their way to the living room just as Clint led Coulson, Fury, and Hill into the room.

"There's the birthday girl!"  
"Hi, Uncle Phil!"  
"Hiya, Lex. How are you?"  
"Good, Aunt Maria."  
Lexi made her way to the guests and gave each of them a hug while Clint got drinks. It was a small gathering, but Lexi wasn't used to anything else. In Russia, nobody could know she existed, and the last few years, there hadn't been enough people her mother or her trusted enough to invite.

The group of people sat around the living room eating cake and watching Lexi's favorite movie, Beauty and the Beast.

Once the movie was finished, Clint announced that it was time for presents, and everyone laughed at the way Lexi's eyes lit up.

When she was done opening presents, Lexi had two new dresses from Maria, a mini catsuit from Fury, a coloring book full of Disney princesses from Phil, and a mini bow that shot arrows with suction cups from her parents.

As soon as she'd seen the bow, she'd started shooting random targets, and everyone was pleased to see that she seemed to be a natural, nowhere near as good as Clint, but that was to be expected.

As everyone devoured their dinner of cheeseburgers- per Lexi's request- they found themselves engrossed in another of Lexi's favorite movies, Raiders of the Lost Arc. Everyone was so engrossed in fact that Fury jumped out of his seat when his cell phone rang. He excused himself and went to answer it without so much as a look from anybody else.

Fury returned moments later, and paused the movie. When everyone started grumbling, he ignored it and began talking over them.

"I don't care. Romanoff, Barton, you have a mission. Nothing big, your regular M-O."  
Fury gave Natasha a look that clearly told her what he meant, and that he wasn't going to actually say it with Lexi in the room.

_Great. I get to seduce another sleazebag. Except that I probably shouldn't…_

She looked over to Clint and locked eyes with the archer. He seemed to be on the same page as her, because he gave her a subtle nod, encouraging her.

"Director Fury, I don't believe it would be in my best interest to proceed with this mission."  
Fury was less than pleased, that much was clear, but Natasha could also see interest on his face, clearly wanting to know what kind of excuse she would make up. "And just why is that, Agent Romanoff?"  
Instead of answering her boss, Natasha turned her attention to her daughter, who was currently coloring a picture with Maria.

"Lexi, sweetie, can you come here please?"  
Lexi nodded and made her way towards her mother. "What, мама?"  
"How would you like to have a little sister?"  
Lexi's eyes brightened considerably and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! When мама? When can I have a sister?"  
"In about 5 months, Sweetie."  
Lexi's reaction was nothing compared to the rest of the adults, excluding Clint.

"I'm sorry, what?"  
"Care to repeat that?"  
"What are you talking about?"  
Natasha looked away from her daughter and back to her bosses with a smile on her face. "That's why I don't believe it's in my best interests to do this mission, or any others, really. My usual M-O isn't something I find all that appealing given everything."  
Phil and Maria nodded, clearly agreeing with her. Fury didn't seem pleased, but he'd learned long ago that no one could make the Black Widow do anything she didn't want to do. So instead, Fury turned and addressed the other assassin in the room.  
"I'm assuming this is your doing?"  
"I sure as fuc-fudge hope so." He responded, shooting a playful look at Natasha, knowing full well that it was his.  
"Shove it, Barton." Natasha responded, a playful smile trying to force its way onto her face in return.  
Fury sighed, but didn't push it. "Fine. Romanoff, you're officially off missions until I say otherwise. I assume you have a doctor?" Upon seeing her nod, Fury continued, "Good. You'll listen to your doctor, without argument. You'll also be placed on desk duty, although I'll see to it that you continue to receive your current pay."

Natasha nodded to show that she understood, but if she was being honest, she didn't really care. She was extremely happy to be pregnant again, knowing full well that nobody could make her get rid of this baby, like they'd tried to do with Lexi.

"Barton, you're still needed for the mission, it'll just have to be done differently. You leave in the morning."  
Clint nodded to Fury, but didn't take his eyes off Lexi, who was currently sitting next to him whilst coloring a picture of Jasmine, her second favorite Disney princess.

Fury sighed and shook his head, but he wasn't too annoyed with his agents. In fact, he was a little happy and, if he believed it was possible, slightly giddy. Except that SHIELD Director Nick Fury did _not_ get giddy.

When the movie was done playing, the party guests decided it was time to leave, allowing Clint some time alone with his family before his mission.

Once everyone had left, Natasha and Clint took Lexi into the bathroom for her bath. Or what was supposed to be a bath, but quickly turned in to a giant bubble fight, just like it did most nights.

When they finally got the little girl clean, Natasha wrapped her in her Pooh Bear towel and dried her off, before helping her into her pajamas. They made their way back to the living room where Clint turned on Lilo and Stitch while Natasha began the slow process of brushing Lexi's hair.

Her daughter's hair was exactly like her own. A gorgeous red that could only be natural, prone to curling in perfect ringlets, and down right annoying. It tangled easily, causing Natasha to have to spend the majority of bath time working out the tangles, only to have to use a pick to get more out once they were back in the living room. Natasha had learned years before that the best way to prevent tangles was to brush Lexi's hair until it was dry, just as Natasha had to do for her own hair.

"Lexi, can we please cut your hair?"  
"No! мама, why would you even ask that?"  
"Sweetie, doesn't it hurt when I have to do this every night?"  
"Not anymore. 'Sides, it's pretty."  
Natasha sighed. This was their nightly conversation, and had been for at least two years. But Natasha did agree with Lexi, her hair was pretty when it was long.

So Natasha brushed Lexi's hair until it was dry and had returned to its normal silky smooth texture.

By the time she was done, Lexi was drifting off to sleep, so Natasha set the brush down and carefully lifted Lexi into her arms as she and Clint made their way to her bedroom to put her to bed.

As Natasha sat next to her daughter running a hand through her hair as she sang the girl to sleep, Lexi remembered her question from earlier and decided now was a good time to ask it.

"мама?"  
"Yeah, Lexi?"  
"Do I really get a sister?"  
"Yes, Lexi, you really do."  
Lexi nodded, before turning onto her side and holding her Pooh Bear tightly to her chest, signaling to Natasha that she was seconds from sleep.  
When Lexi was asleep, Natasha kissed her head, and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Clint came up behind Natasha and kissed Lexi's cheek before wrapping his arms around Natasha and pulling her closer so that her back was leaning against his front, with his hands resting on the bump that was barely visible, while they watched their daughter sleep for a moment.

Eventually, they made their way out of her bedroom and to their own, where they changed into pajamas and climbed into bed together, Natasha using Clint's chest as her pillow.

"That went over better than I thought it would have."  
Natasha nodded her agreement. "Fury's a softie."  
They chuckled softly before falling quiet again.

"You're happy, right, Tasha?"  
"Unbelievably so. I want to be able to do this right, Clint. Nobody's going to tell me that I can't keep my baby this time."  
Clint pulled Natasha closer, knowing that her first pregnancy and Lexi's first years were far from easy.

"It'll be different this time, Tasha, I promise."

She nodded into his chest, knowing that he'd make sure it was.

"I love you, Mrs. Barton."  
Natasha smirked into his chest. "I love you, too, Mr. Romanoff."

_Yes,_ Natasha thought as she fell asleep listening to her husband's breathing, _Budapest was the beginning of a wonderful relationship._

A wonderful relationship that started in Budapest and was made official in Inverness.

_And using our real names, no less._

* * *

**So there's chapter three. I know it's kind of short, it's more of a filler chapter really, so that the next chapter seems like it fits better ,because something tells me that going from Natasha just saying that she trusts Clint, to her having his kid is kind of a big leap…  
Also, yes, they're married. They started dating after the mission in Budapest, and got married in Inverness, which I think is one of the prettiest cities in Scotland, if not in all of Britain.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Natasha discovered that, when she wasn't worried about her baby being taken away, she actually enjoyed being pregnant. Sure, there was morning sickness, but she'd had worse. And she wasn't getting very fat either- but whenever she complained about feeling fat, Clint was always there to tell her how beautiful she was.

Overall, Natasha was happy. She was excited to have another daughter, and even happier that it was with Clint. There was just one problem.

For as happy as Lexi had been at the beginning, it had taken about a week before she finally decided that she wanted nothing to do with a new baby, and she made her opinions very clear.

Lexi began ignoring her mother, although she still listened to Clint. She avoided talking to Natasha whenever possible, asking Clint to sing her to sleep and to do her hair, and anything else Natasha usually did.

At first Natasha was worried, but she quickly figured out that Lexi was jealous, and figured that her daughter would out grow it when the baby was born. The knowledge didn't stop Natasha from trying to engage her daughter, but she usually gave up before long, it was just too much for her to deal with her normally bright and bubbly daughter acting like a stranger.

The final straw came when Natasha got a call from Lexi's school.

Lexi had been doing well in kindergarten, making friends and being an overall good student.

So when Natasha got a call saying that Lexi had been in a fight, she was confused to say the least. But she got in the car and went to the school to pick up her daughter.

When she arrived, she found Lexi sitting in the nurse's office, with an ice pack on her wrist and a slightly bloody lip. Aside from that, and a few bruises, Lexi looked like she might have come off better in the fight.

Lexi looked up when her mother entered, but as soon as she saw who it was, her eyes dropped back to her lap. For a split second, Natasha thought that their silent fight was over, until Lexi stood up with her things and walked right by Natasha out of the office, without so much as a look of acknowledgement.

_This is getting extremely annoying._

Natasha went to sign her out at the front desk, and began speaking amicably the receptionist.

"Ты идешь? Или мы будем стоять вечно?" _'Are you coming? Or are we going to hang around forever?'_

When Natasha heard Lexi's question, as well as the tone with which she said it, she snapped.

She had to pause momentarily to remind herself that she couldn't yell at her daughter, at least not in front of other people. So Natasha took a deep breath, and turned around to answer.

"Могу ли я вам скучно? Да, мы уходим, а вы в огромном количестве проблем. Мы обсудим наказание в автомобиле, и вы можете быть уверены, что я скажу твоему отцу об этом мало трюк ваш. Я не знаю, где такое отношение идет от, но лучше брось, мисси. Меня не волнует, если ты злишься на меня, но я твоя мать, и я заслуживаю уважения от вас. Так что задницу в машину, и я не хочу больше ни слова от тебя, пока я говорю с вами." _'Am I boring you? Yes, we're leaving, and you're in massive amounts of trouble. We'll discuss punishment in the car, and you can be sure that I'll tell your father about this little stunt of yours. I don't know where this attitude is coming from, but you'd better knock it off, missy. I don't care if you're mad at me, but I'm your mother, and I deserve some respect from you. So get your butt out to the car, and I don't want another word from you until I speak to you.'_

Lexi had the decency to look slightly scared, but it didn't stop her next comment.

"Он не мой отец" _'He's not my father.'_

Natasha sighed, but made no further comment, instead just leading Lexi out to the car, desperately trying to figure out where her sweet little girl had gone.

_I thought attitude problems didn't kick in until she was 14. She's not even 6 yet!_

The ride back to their house was very uneventful, for which Natasha was grateful. She couldn't figure out what was going on with her daughter. Usually, if anyone said that Clint wasn't her father, Lexi would kick them repeatedly until the apologized to Clint, but now here she was saying the same thing other people said to offend her and Clint.

When they got to the house, Lexi went to her room and shut the door, while Natasha pulled out her cell phone and called Clint.

_"Hello?"  
_"Clint?"  
_"Tasha? What's wrong? Is Lexi ok?"  
"_I don't know."  
"_What's going on?"  
_"She got in a fight at school."  
"_What?"  
_Natasha decided to start from the beginning, and told Clint everything that she knew.

"_She said that?"  
_Natasha could tell that Clint was hurt by Lexi's comment, and she didn't blame him.

"Yeah. I'm really starting to worry, Clint. This is so unlike her, I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't just lock myself in her room and force her to talk to me."  
"_It might be worth a shot. If that doesn't work, you can always have her cool off with Phil and Maria."  
_"True. I'll let you get back to work, and I'll go see if I can figure out what's going on."  
"_Ok. I'll be home as soon as I can, and we can talk to her together."  
_"Sounds good. I love you."  
"_Love you too."_

Natasha hung up and carefully made her way to Lexi's room. She listened at the door for a minute, and heard the faint sounds of the old Russian songs Natasha sang to her.

She knocked, and after receiving no reply, she opened the door carefully, and stepped inside.

Lexi was sitting at her desk, working on homework- spelling, no doubt. Or trying to, anyway. Natasha could tell that her wrist was really hurting her, and it killed Natasha a little to think that her daughter was so determined to not interact with her that she'd keep quiet about something that painful.

"I don't want to talk to you, so you can just go away."

Natasha sighed, but didn't leave. Instead, she shut the door behind herself and went to sit on the bed.

"I'm not leaving. We're going to talk, and you're going to tell me what's wrong."  
"Nothing. Everything's _perfect_."  
"Then why haven't you spoken to me willingly in the last month?"  
"I don't want to."  
"Why? Lexi, what did I do?" Natasha voice was close to breaking.  
"You didn't do anything."  
"Lexi, _please_."

Lexi finally turned around, and saw the tears threatening in her mother's eyes.

"Please what?"  
"Please just tell me what's wrong. Did I do something? Was it Clint?"  
"You didn't do anything."  
"Then why did you say that he's not your father?"  
"Because he's not."  
"Lexi." Natasha's voice was a whisper.

Lexi looked up from where her eyes had been trained on her lap, and saw a single tear fall from her mother's eye.

"He's not my dad. That's his kid." Lexi pointed at Natasha's growing bump. "Not me."  
When Lexi finished, her eyes dropped back to her lap, but not before Natasha caught sight of the tears in her eyes.

She stood up from the bed, and went to kneel in front of Lexi's desk chair, gently placing her hand on Lexi's knee. She pushed back the happy feeling when Lexi didn't shove her hand off, focusing instead on her words.

"Lexi listen to me. Clint is every bit your father as he is for this baby."  
"No he's not! I don't have a dad! _My_ dad is either dead because you got too close to him, or he just doesn't care that I exist!"  
"Lexi, where is all this coming from? It never bothered you that you didn't know him. So why now?"  
"Everyone else gets a dad."  
"But Sweetie, Clint's your dad."  
"It's not the same. And it's not just that."  
"Then what else is it?"  
"That's going to be born, and you're going to forget me!"  
Lexi was openly crying now, and it tore at Natasha's heart.

"Lexi! That's not true, and you know it!"  
"But it is! Why's Clint gonna need me, when he has that as his kid? And why would you need me, when you can have a kid that you don't need to hide?"  
"Lexi, I'll always need you, and so will Clint. Sweetie, I wouldn't trade anything I've had with you for anything in the world."  
Lexi looked at her mother again, hope shining in her eyes. "Really?"  
Natasha smiled. "Really. Lexi, those two years in Russia with you were some of the happiest in my life. Sure, I did horrible things, but I had never been happier."  
"Why?"  
"Because I had you. You didn't care what I did, as long as I came home. And you helped me beat the Red Room. They told me to get rid of you; they programmed me not to love anyone or anything, except Russia. But I didn't listen. I kept you, and I raised you, no matter how terrified I was all the time. And I loved you. I still do, too. They thought they took that away form me, but they didn't. Whenever I look at you, I'm reminded of how much I love you, and how much I would do for you. I left my _home_, everything I'd ever known, because you were in danger. I trusted the word of a man who pointed a bow in my face, because there was a slight chance that he was telling the truth, and that we'd be safe.

Lexi, everything I've ever done since you were born has been for you. And I wouldn't have it any other way."  
Lexi continued to look at her mother, tears rolling down her cheeks. Finally, Natasha couldn't take it anymore, and reached forward to wipe some of the tears away. Without warning, Lexi threw herself at her mother, and wrapped her arms around Natasha's neck, and hugged her tightly. Natasha wrapped her arms around Lexi's body, and squeezed.

"I'll always love you, Bug. Never doubt that."  
"I love you too, Мама. I'm sorry."  
"I know, and it's ok. Just make sure that when Clint gets home, you apologize to him too."

Lexi nodded, but didn't let go of Natasha. Natasha stood up and carried Lexi to the bed, where the two of them laid down together, Natasha stroking Lexi's hair.

"What was the fight about, Lexi?"  
"Crystal was making fun of me."  
"For what?"  
"I got nervous when someone asked me a question, and answered in Russian. And she overheard, and said that I made up languages. When I started crying because she wouldn't listen to me, she kept making fun of me, so I hit her, and she hit me back, and… yeah. But she's not very good at fighting, so I won."

Natasha chuckled softly at that. "Did you tell the office that?"  
"Yeah. They said they'd talk to her mom. It's not the first time she's made fun of someone, but it's the first time anyone stood up to her."  
"I'll bet. But you hurt your wrist, so no gymnastics until it's healed, and when Clint gets home, we'll decide how much longer after that without gymnastics will serve as reasonable punishment for your recent attitude, and the fight."  
"Ok."  
"Do you want me to look at your wrist?"  
"Please."  
Natasha picked Lexi up and they made their way to the bathroom, where Natasha decided that it was only sprained, so she wrapped it, and texted Clint to have him get a wrist brace on his way home.

When they were done, Natasha helped Lexi finish her homework, and they got started on dinner.

* * *

When Clint walked into the house later, he heard laughter coming from the kitchen, but before he could take more than a few steps into the hallway, he heard footsteps coming towards him. He had just enough time to register the flash of red, before Lexi had thrown herself at him and was hugging him as best she could.

Clint stooped and lifted her into his arms, allowing her better access to hug him.

"I'm sorry, Папа."  
"For what, Lex?"  
"For being mean. I'm sorry."  
"It's ok, Lex."  
She hugged him again, and together they made their way back to the kitchen, where Clint helped her put the brace on her wrist.

After dinner and Lexi's bath, they put Cinderella on the TV, and Lexi entertained them with her running commentary on why Cinderella wasn't as good of a princess.

Bedtime finally arrived, and after kissing Lexi goodnight, Natasha told her that she was only banned from gymnastics until her wrist was better, since it would take about a month to heal properly, and the fight hadn't been completely her fault.

Natasha sang to Lexi, remembering how much she loved this nighttime ritual with her.

Just as Natasha was leaving, she heard Lexi ask one last question.

"Will you really love me forever?"  
"I really will, Lexi."  
"Ok."  
"Ok."  
With that, Natasha left the bedroom and made her way to her own, where she found Clint already in bed, reading a book that he'd been trying to finish for ages.

"She asleep?"  
"Yeah."  
"You figure out what the problem was?"  
"Yeah. She thought we didn't love her anymore, and that's why we were having another baby. So I told her that we'd always love her, and she was silly to think otherwise.

Clint nodded and smiled as he pulled Natasha into his body, allowing her to pillow her head on his chest.

"I knew it wouldn't last forever."  
Natasha laughed at Clint, but made no response. Instead, she just placed a kiss on his lips, and settled in for sleep.

"I love you, Natasha."  
"I love you too, Clint."  
And with that, they both fell asleep, happy to finally have a peaceful family again.

* * *

**There you go! I hope you guys liked it, and it wasn't too weird. I know that Lexi's only 5, but I was a pretty sassy kid when I was little, so I decided that she would be, too. And it also fits, since her mother is Natasha.**

**Also, I know that most 5 year olds don't speak that well, and most people don't talk to 5 ear olds like that, but I firmly believe that talking down to someone just because they're young is stupid, not to mention rude, so it doesn't happen in my stories. Also, it makes sense that if she can speak well, people would talk to her like they would to anyone else.**

**That's all for my rant, I really hope you guys like the story!**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

"Clint, wake up."  
No response.

"Clint, you need to wake up."  
Still nothing.

Natasha reached over and shook Clint's shoulder.

Again, no response.

_Fine. _"CLINT, GODDAMMIT WAKE UP!"  
Clint jerked awake. "What?"  
"Finally."  
"Tasha, what the hell?"  
"I just figured you'd want to be awake when your daughter was born. But feel free to go back to sleep."  
"Holy fuck, the baby's coming?"  
"Yeah. So get up and get dressed."

Clint jumped out of bed and raced to the closet. When he reemerged in jeans and a black shirt, he looked noticeably calmer.

"Did you call Maria?"  
"Yeah. She's in the living room."  
Clint nodded, and helped Natasha off the bed, and into the living room.  
"I see you finally got him awake."  
Natasha cracked a smile, while she followed Clint down to Lexi's bedroom to say goodbye.

When they walked in, they found Lexi sitting in her bed, holding her Pooh bear close to her chest.

"Lexi?"  
"Is the baby coming?"  
"Yeah, she is."  
"Do I get to come?"  
"Not right now. Maria's going to stay with you, and you can come later, ok?"  
Lexi nodded.

Natasha leaned in and kissed Lexi's forehead.

"I meant what I said, Bug. We'll always love you, you know that, right?"  
"Yeah, Мама, I know."  
Natasha smiled at Lexi, before a grimace crosses her face as a contraction hits.

Natasha managed to rearrange her face quickly, but stood up to leave her daughter's room.

"You ready to go?" Clint asked when she walked back into the living room.

Natasha nodded, and allowed Clint to help her out to the car.

The drive to the hospital went quickly, and once they arrived, they were ushered to a room, where Natasha was handed a hospital gown, which she changed into quickly.

She got settled into the bed, and Clint came over to sit on the bed next to her. She leaned into Clint's embrace as another contraction hit.

"You doing ok, Nat?"  
"Oh yeah. Just _peachy_."  
Clint chuckled. "Right. Sorry. You want pain meds?"  
"No."  
"Are you sure? It won't mean you're weak."  
Natasha chuckled wryly. "I know. I've done this before."  
Clint smiled but didn't respond.

* * *

The rest of Natasha's labor was passed in fairly the same manner. Every time a contraction hit, Natasha barely winced. Even as they got closer together, she barely showed that she was in any pain.

"Well, Natasha, it looks like you're ready to push. Let's get this baby out of you."  
"Finally."

Clint chuckled at Natasha's response, and stood up to hold her hand.

"Alright, let's get started."  
And so the pushing began. With every push, Clint expected Natasha to start yelling at him, but aside from a few cures words, Natasha stayed mostly silent.

After what felt like years of waiting, a small cry was heard.

"Congratulations, you two, your daughter has just graced us with her presence."  
Clint smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to Natasha's temple.

"Good job, Tasha."  
The nurse came over and handed Natasha the small pink bundle, before leaving the room.

Clint reclaimed his previous spot on the bed next to Natasha.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?"  
"She's perfect, Tasha."  
"Just as perfect as Lexi was."  
"I bet."  
They looked at their daughter. She was average sized, with bright red fuzz and pale skin. As they were looking at her, her eyes opened to reveal gray-blue orbs, the exact same color as Clint's.

As her eyes locked on Natasha, the baby started cooing, causing Natasha to smile.

"Do you have a name picked out?"  
Natasha and Clint looked up and found the same nurse from earlier in the doorway.

"Not yet."  
"Alright. I'll give you some more time, and I'll check later."  
"Thank you."  
The nurse exited with a smile.

"What do we want to name her, Tasha?"  
"I don't know."  
"Russian name? American?"  
"Irish?"  
"Irish? Really?"  
"Yeah. I know how much Ireland means to you, and it's important to us too. And who says we need Russian names for all our children? Lexi's name is Russian because I didn't know that we'd ever leave Russia."  
"So, an Irish name?"  
"Yeah."  
"Good, because I have the perfect name."  
"Oh? And what is it?"  
"Ceara Éibhleann Barton-Romanoff."  
"I like it."  
"Ceara means fiery red- which is fitting, because of her hair color, and Éibhleann means beauty. And I can already tell that she'll be beautiful."  
"It's perfect, Clint."

They continued watching their daughter, until the door opened again, and Maria

stood before them, holding Lexi's hand.

"Мама!"  
"Hi, Lexi."  
"Is that my sister?"  
"Yeah it is. Do you want to meet her?"

Lexi nodded, and made her way over to the bed, where Clint helped her up next to

Natasha.

"She's pretty, Мама."  
"Yes, she is."  
"What's her name?"  
Natasha looked up as Maria spoke. "Ceara Éibhleann Barton-Romanoff."  
"It's pretty."  
"Thanks."  
Maria smiled before leaving the room quietly, giving the family some time along together.

"Мама?"  
"Yeah, Bug?"  
"I'm sorry I thought you wouldn't love me."  
"It's ok, Lexi. As long as you don't ever think that again."  
"I won't, I promise."  
"Ok."  
"When is she coming home?"  
"Tomorrow. I have to stay the night here, and we'll both be home tomorrow. But Папа is going to go home with you, and you can come with him to pick us up in the morning."  
"Ok."  
"Do you want to hold her, Lex?"  
"Can I, Папа?"  
"If you're very careful."  
"Ok."  
Natasha shifted to allow Lexi to sit next to her, back against the pillows.

"Hold out your arms like this, Lex."  
Clint showed her how to hold her arms, and Natasha gently placed Ceara into Lexi's arms.

As soon as Lexi held Ceara, her face lit up, and she smiled at her sister.

"Hi, Ceara. I love you very much. I'll be a very good sister, I promise. Мама and Папа say you're going to be too little to play with me for a little while. But when you get bigger, we'll play lots. We can color princess pictures, and watch princess movies. And when you get big enough, we can do gymnastics together, and when you learn other languages, we can talk together."  
Natasha smiled at both her daughters, while Clint ran his hand through Lexi's hair.

When Ceara started whimpering, Lexi got scared.

"I'm sorry! I didn't do anything on purpose, I promise. I held her like you said!"  
"It's ok, Lex. She's just hungry."  
"Oh. I'm hungry, too."  
Clint smiled at Lexi, before meeting Natasha's eyes. Natasha gave a subtle nod, and Clint turned back to Lexi.

"It's kind of late, Lex. Do you want to go get dinner, and we can come back later? So Мама has some time to rest?"  
"Ok."  
Lexi kissed her mother and sister, and allowed Clint to carry her out of the room, and down to their car.

"Where are we going, Папа?"  
"Do you want pizza?"  
"Yes!"  
"Then let's g get pizza."

Lexi gave a nod, and Clint drove off.

When they arrived at the pizza place, they went to sit at the high tables- Lexi's favorite because they made her feel tall.

When their food came- a medium pizza that was half pepperoni and half pepperoni, sausage, ham, olives, and peppers- they began eating.

When the pizza was gone, Lexi looked at her father.

"Папа?"  
"Yeah, Lex?"  
"Can I have ice cream?"  
"Will it make you sick?"  
"No."  
"Then yes, you may."

When they finished their desert, they paid and got back in the car and went back to the hospital.

When they arrived in Natasha's room, they found her sitting in the bed, with Ceara's cot next to her.

"Hi, Мама."  
"Hey, Bug. Did you have a nice dinner?"  
"Yep!"  
Natasha smiled and hugged her daughter.

"Lex, let's go home, and we'll come pick Мама up in the morning, ok?"  
"Ok."  
"I love you Lexi-bug."  
"I love you too, Мама."

Lexi and Clint left the hospital and made their way home.

* * *

As Natasha was about to fall asleep, she heard a voice coming from her doorway.

"So, this is the little thing keeping you out of the field."

Natasha looked up and was shocked at who she saw.

"Director Fury! What are you doing here?"  
"Did you really expect me not to come see the two best agents' new baby?"  
"I really didn't think you'd be here."  
"Well I am. Does she have a name?"  
"Ceara Éibhleann Barton-Romanoff."  
"Very pretty. She looks just like you."  
"Thank you. She actually has Clint's eyes. But other than that, I suppose she does."  
"I assume you'll want to spend sometime with her?"  
"Of course."  
"I figured as much. SHIELD mandates 3 months maternity leave and 2 months paternity leave, but let me know if either of you need any more time."  
"Will do, sir."

Fury nodded, and made his way out of the room.

Natasha smiled to herself as she fell asleep, thinking that maybe Fury's soft spot was growing a bit bigger.

* * *

The next day, Lexi was a ball of energy as she skipped down the hall with her parents and little sister.

"Lexi, please wait."  
Lexi stopped skipping, and turned around to look at her parents, both of whom were walking about 50 feet behind her.

"Sorry, Мама."  
Lexi's family caught up to her easily, now that she'd stopped skipping.  
"It's ok, Lexi. It's just difficult to see you if you get too far ahead."  
Lexi nodded, and they continued out of the hospital.

"Lex, please hold my hand in the parking lot, I don't want to worry about you getting hurt."  
Lexi grabbed Clint's hand, and followed Natasha and Ceara to the car. Clint opened the door for Lexi, who climbed in on one side of Ceara's car seat, where Clint strapped her into her booster seat. Natasha climbed in on the other side of the car seat, and showed Lexi how to buckle the seat. When everyone was buckled in, Clint started the car, and they slowly made their way out of the parking lot.

"Clint, you need to drive faster." Natasha chuckled.  
"Sorry, Tash. I'm being careful."  
"Clint, you're being annoying. When Lexi was born, I drove like a madman every time we had to go anywhere."  
"That's because I wasn't there."  
Natasha laughed again. "Clint, please. We're fine back here. Lexi and Ceara are strapped in, going the speed limit won't hurt either of them."

Lexi was laughing along with her mother, remembering the times she could recall Natasha driving them anywhere.

"Fine. I'll go the speed limit. But not any faster."  
"Thank you."  
They arrived at the house not too long later.

"Lexi, why don't you go turn on a movie, while we get everything settled, ok?"  
"Ok, Мама."  
Lexi scampered into the house and turned on Beauty and the Beast, while Natasha unhooked Ceara from the car seat and carried her into her bedroom, where she placed the now sleeping baby into her crib.

When she reemerged, she found Clint in the kitchen making sandwiches, and Lexi singing along to the movie.

They ate lunch together, and had just started coloring when Ceara woke up, and Natasha went to feed her.

"Папа, can you teach me Irish?"  
"Sure, that can be your next language, but you have to finish learning Italian first, ok?"  
"Ok."  
The rest of the day was spent coloring and watching movies, with breaks taken to play with Ceara, or feed or change her.

When it was time for Lexi to go to bed, they tucked her in together.

"Папа, can you sing me a new song?"  
"Sure. What song do you want?"  
"The one that you sing when you think Мама and I aren't listening."  
Clint smiled, but started singing:

_Buachaill ón Éirne mé 's bhréagfainn cailín deas óg  
Ní iarrfainn bó spré léi tá mé fhéin saibhir go leor  
'S liom Corcaigh da mhéid é, dhá thaobh  
a' ghleanna 's Tír Eoghain  
'S mura n-athraí mé béasaí 's mé n' t-oidhr'  
ar Chontae Mhaigh Eo  
Rachaidh mé 'márach ag dhéanamh leanna fán choill  
Gan choite gan bád gan gráinnín brach' ar bith liom  
Ach duilliúr na gcraobh mar éadaigh leapa os mo chionn  
'S óró sheacht m'anam déag thú 's tú 'féachaint orm anall  
Buachailleacht bó, mo leo, nár chleacht mise ariamh  
Ach ag imirt 's ag ól le h'ógmhná deasa an tsliabh  
Má chaill mé mo stór ní moide gur chaill mé mo chiall  
A's ní mó liom do phóg ná'n bhróg atáim ag caitheamh le bliain_

When he finished singing, Lexi was asleep. Her parents kissed her goodnight, and made their way to their bedroom, where Ceara was already asleep.

They crawled into bed together, and Clint wrapped his arms around Natasha.

"Are you happy, Tasha?"  
"Of course I am, Clint. Are you?"  
"Unbelievably so. I have three wonderful girls, nothing could make me happier."  
Natasha smiled at his response, and burrowed closer to his chest, where she fell asleep, and slept peacefully for the night.

Until Ceara started crying in the middle of the night.

* * *

**There you go! I hope you guys liked this chapter. I wanted to do a small thing on their first day home with Ceara, but it wasn't going to be long enough for its own chapter, so I hope it's ok that I put it in this one.**

**Also, I have a really good idea for a section of this, but it's going to be at least a few chapters, so I'm going to write it as a separate story, just so this one can stay about the family as a whole, and not about one particular event.**

**Side note: Ceara is pronounced KYAR a, and Éibhleann is pronounced AYV len.**

**And the song is buachaill ón Éirne, an Irish song. The version I'm currently obsessed with is done by Celtic Thunder. You should go give it a listen.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I tried doing this as another story, but I decided that if I split up every not-so-fluffy moment from this story, I would end up giving all you readers massive cavities. So this should only be two chapters, maybe three, and I'll hopefully get the rest of it up soon.**

* * *

"Ms. Willis?"  
"Yes, Lexi?"  
"May I go get something out of my backpack?"  
"Sure, Lexi."  
"Thanks!"  
Lexi smiled at her teacher, before running from the playground into her classroom. When she entered the room, she made her way over to her desk- because 2nd graders got desks instead of tables- and opened her backpack. She was looking through her backpack for the picture she wanted to show her friend, when she heard a voice behind her.

"Пора идти, паучок." _'Time to go, little spider.'_

Lexi whipped around, and found a large man blocking the door to the classroom. She moved her hand slightly in the backpack, and her fingers came across the cell phone her parents had given her in case of emergencies. She quickly found the 1 button, and held it down long enough for it to call her mother. She tried her best not to show the fear that was bubbling in her. She must not have done very well, though.

"That's right, I know who you are. I know who your mother is. I know that she walked out on our little program. So I'm going to take you in her place."

Lexi knew that it was stupid to fight, but she also knew that her mother would want her to fight. So when the man came toward her, Lexi slid across the desk next to her, barely avoiding his grasp. She started running for the door, but the man was bigger than her, and grabbed the back of her shirt, pulling her away from the door, and lifting her squirming body off the ground. She kicked out, trying to do what her mother had shown her, and use his weight against him, but she couldn't get a good enough grip on him. She managed to rip out a chunk of his hair though, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Alright, spider girl, I'm done with this."  
Lexi had enough time to process his words, before she saw the white cloth coming toward her face. She let go of the chunk of hair hoping it fell somewhere it would be found, and be useful.

_Please let them not have found Ceara. Please let her be safe_ was the last thing Lexi thought before everything went black.

* * *

Elsewhere, Natasha was in the middle of a briefing when her phone buzzed. She pulled it out, ignoring the look Phil shot at her. She panicked slightly when she saw Lexi's name on the phone screen, and hurriedly pressed answer.

"Lexi?"  
There was no response from the other side. Natasha was about to hang up, thinking it had been an accident, when she heard the voice.

_"That's right, I know who you are. I know who your mother is. I know that she walked out on our little program. So I'm going to take you in her place."_

Natasha let out a small gasp. She recognized the voice, it was one of the guards from the Red Room.

"Tasha?"  
Clint's voice brought her out of her shock, but only slightly.

"Tasha, you ok?"  
Natasha shook her head, knowing she wouldn't be able to form words.

"Tasha, what's wrong?"  
"They- they have her."  
"Have who?"  
"Lexi. They took Lexi."  
"Who?"  
"The Red Room."  
"Agents! Is there anything you'd like to share with the rest of the room?"  
Clint just looked at Natasha, knowing she'd want to be the one to tell the group anything.

Natasha cleared her throat before speaking.

"They took Lexi."  
"What?!"  
"Who?"  
"The Red Room." Natasha moved her gaze from her lap to Clint's face. "They took my baby girl." She finished in a whisper.

The room flew into a flurry. Fury directed some of the agents to get on a computer and start searching cameras throughout the city, another group was told to alert the airports in the area, and the final group was sent to Lexi's school.

"Romanoff."  
"Not now, Fury." Clint said, leading Natasha from the room.  
"Agent Barton, I need to speak with Agent Romanoff."  
"I said, _not now!_"

Before Fury could get another word in, Phil put his hand on the director's shoulder, and gave him a look.

Clint ushered Natasha out of the room, and into the quarters they'd been issued on the new Hellicarrier.

As soon as the door closed, the floodgates broke. Tears were flowing from Natasha's eyes as she threw herself into Clint's arms.

They held each other until the tears stopped flowing, and Natasha's sobs calmed.

"I want to see her."  
"Who, Tasha?"  
"Ceara. I need to see my other baby."  
"Ok. She's with Maria, so let's go."  
Natasha allowed Clint to lead her from the room, and down to the training center, where Maria was showing Ceara how to stretch properly.

They both looked up when the door opened.

"Мама!"  
Natasha smiled at the three year old. "Hi, Ceara."  
The little girl stood up and ran to her mom. Natasha scooped her up off the ground and held her tightly to her chest.

"Мама ok?"  
"Yeah."  
"_Мама_."  
Natasha smiled at her daughter's tone, so like her own and Lexi's.

"What's wrong, Natasha?"  
"Lexi."  
"What wrong with Lexi, Мама?"  
"She can't come home for a little while."  
"Why?"  
"She got taken, Ceara. But we're going to find her."  
"Ok."  
She smiled at her daughter's response. She was still young enough to think that anything her parents told her was the truth.

Phil entered the room shortly thereafter, "Agents, we need you."  
Natasha nodded and kissed Ceara before following Clint and Phil out of the room.

"Do we know anything?"  
"Besides that it's someone from the Red Room, not much. We went to Lexi's school. Her classroom was extremely messy. The teacher said the kids had to clean up before recess, so we're assuming that Lexi put up a fight. We also found a chunk of hair on the floor, presumably from the man."  
"What color was it?"  
"Dirty blonde."  
Natasha stopped walking.

"Tasha?"  
"I know who it is."  
"Who?"  
"His name's Alek. He was one of Ivan's personal body guards."  
"Wait, does that mean…?"  
"Ivan wants Lexi."  
"What? Why?"  
"Well, from what I heard on the phone, Ivan was mad that I left, so Alek was taking Lexi in my place."  
"Can we go get her?"  
"No. if Alek's got her, crazy as it sounds, she's safe."  
"How do you figure?"  
"Ivan wants her for a reason, until he gets her, she's safe. It'll be a day or two before they get to the facility, and Ivan's only there two days at a time. Today will be his last day there for the rest of the week. So we have 5 days to get me ready to go in."  
"Wait, what? Tasha, that's insane."  
"I know, but it's the only way. The only way to get to Ivan when he's at the facility is through the facility. And the only one who can get in, is me."  
Clint gave her a look, but he knew she was right.

The only way to rescue their daughter was for Natasha to infiltrate the very organization she had escaped to keep Lexi safe.

* * *

**I know it's kind of short, but future chapters will be longer.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know that there's a two-year jump between two chapters ago and last chapter. I'd intended for this to be a separate story, but changed my mind. So if it really bothers you guys, I can see if I can come up with something to fill the gap.**

* * *

"Nat, are you sure about this?"  
"Clint, I already told you. It has to be like this."  
Clint sighed. "I know. I just wish it didn't have to be."  
Natasha finished zipping her catsuit and walked over to her husband, wrapping her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. "Me too. But we'll be fine. I'll get her out, and then I'll kill Ivan."  
"Nat…"  
Natasha pulled back from the hug slightly to glare at the man before her. "No, Clint. He took my baby girl away from me. He intends to have her be a soldier for him. He's going to do to her what he did for me. I won't let that happen to Lexi. I won't let my daughter go through the hell I went through."  
"I know, Nat. But Ivan…"  
"Is a monster. I used to think that he cared about me, that he actually liked me. But I was just a pawn to him, another soldier, albeit prettier than the others. I've wanted to kill him. Ever since he had Alexei killed. And now I get my chance."

Clint nodded, pulling Natasha further into his chest, burring his face in her hair. He knew about Alexei, knew that it killed Natasha when he died. Not because she cared about him- that was the Red Room's programming- but because Alexei'd only been able to see their daughter once before he was killed.

"I know I don't usually say this, but please, Tasha, _please_ be careful."  
"I will, Clint. I'll bring our daughter home, one way or another."  
Clint hugged her more tightly for a second before releasing her, doing his best not to think about what Natasha meant by _one way or another_.

They walked out to the flight deck, and Clint escorted Natasha to her plane. While he normally would have gone with her, they'd both decided that Ceara needed one of them to stay with her, just in case.

Once they were on the plane, Clint leaned forward and kissed Natasha gently on the lips.

"Bring Lex home, Tasha."  
"I will. Take care of Ceara while I'm gone. We'll be together soon."  
Clint nodded. "I love you."  
"I love you, too."

With one last kiss, Clint turned and walked back inside. He knew that if he turned around, he'd either demand to go with her, or demand that she not go, and someone else do it. Knowing that neither of those were valid options, he kept his eyes ahead of him, knowing Natasha would understand.

* * *

"Agent Romanoff, we're approaching the drop zone."  
"Thanks, Agent Jones."

Natasha stood from her seat, and began getting ready to jump. As she finished buckling the parachute, she heard someone behind her.

"Don't be stupid, Romanoff."  
"Gee, thanks, Phil."  
"I mean it. Don't do anything your husband, children, or I would consider stupid."  
"I won't, Phil. Remember, it won't take me long to get Lexi out, so stay nearby so she can find you, ok?"  
"I know, Tasha. Once you get her out, I'll make sure she stays safe."  
Without thinking, Natasha threw her arms around Phil's neck and hugged him.

"Thank you, Phil."  
"Don't mention it, Tasha."  
Taking a deep breath, Natasha moved to the door and signaled for Phil to open it. Once he did, she took another deep breath, counted silently to five, and jumped.

* * *

"You stay here until someone comes to get you. And don't hurt yourself. Ivan won't keep you alive if you're injured." With that, the large man slammed the door to the room shut, locking Lexi in.

Lexi stumbled to the bed and sank onto it. It had been just over a day since she'd been taken. She knew her parents would be looking for her, but she couldn't help the feeling that they wouldn't find her in time for whatever Ivan had planned.

Lexi knew enough of her mother's past to know that she was at the Red Room facility, and to know who Ivan was, and that whatever he had planned for her wasn't going to be good or pleasant.

_Where are you, Мама? Are you coming to find me?_

She lost track of time, but after what felt like hours, she heard footsteps on the other side of the door and thinking it was someone who was going to fight her, quickly put her hair up like her mother had taught her, so that whoever it was, wouldn't be able to use it against her.

The door slid open with a hiss, revealing the man that had taken her.

"Come with me. You are to go to the yard with the other children."  
Without making a noise, Lexi stood up and followed the man.

_Please don't make me fight anyone.  
_Lexi knew how fights here ended, the loser always died.

She followed the man-whom she'd dubbed Walrus because of his size- through a maze of hallways, committing each turn to memory, just in case. They stopped at a door, and the man entered a code. The door opened in the same manner as the one to her room, and Lexi was met with a massive outdoor space containing a track, rock wall, and jungle gym, along with lots of free space.

She hesitated in the doorway, wary of the other children she saw. They were small, but that didn't mean anything here. Walrus gave her a prod in the back.

"Off you go. Remember, Ivan won't be happy with you if you get hurt, so don't."  
With that, he pushed her firmly into the yard, and closed the door behind her.

Slowly, watching everything around her as she'd been taught, Lexi made her way through the yard, and went to sit on the top of the monkey bars, where she'd have the best view of the other kids.

Once she'd gotten herself situated, she let out a small chuckle. Even though Clint wasn't her biological father, his habit of being as high up as possible had rubbed off on her, something she was suddenly grateful for.

The sound of footsteps alerted Lexi to someone's presence, and she tensed slightly.

"Кто ты?" _'Who are you?'_

Lexi didn't answer, choosing to stare at the girl instead.

"Я знаю, что говорю на русском." _'I know you speak Russian.'  
_"как?" _'How?'  
_"You look just like her." The girl replied, shrugging.  
"Who?"  
"The Black Widow. She used to be here, but she managed to escape. First person to ever accomplish it. Nobody knows how. Or where she went."  
Lexi managed not to react to hearing her mother's codename. "I know how she did it."  
"Oh? How'd she manage it?"  
"A Hawk helped her." _And me.  
_"A hawk? What does that mean?"  
"Exactly what it sounds like."  
"Whatever. How do you know that's how she did it?"  
Lexi sighed. To tell or not to tell, that was the question. _The hell with it._ "She told me she'd never make me leave, if she didn't intend on following soon after. She sent me away, and turned up two days later, Hawk in tow."  
"What are you talking about?"

By this point, the girl had climbed up next to Lexi, and they sat side by side. Somehow, Lexi knew that although this girl was dangerous, or should be at least, she felt no threat in the girl sitting next to her. Maybe it was because she could so clearly see the questions in the girl's eyes.

"What's your name?"  
"Wait, what?"  
"Before I tell you anymore, I want to know your name."  
"Oh. My name's Anastasia."  
"Pretty."  
"Yours?"  
"Alexis. But everyone calls me Lexi"  
"I was right, that's Russian."  
Lexi smiled slightly and nodded.

"So, what were you talking about?"  
"Hmm?"  
"You said she'd never send you away, unless she was following. What were you talking about?"  
"Oh, that."  
"Yeah, that."  
"Well, she sent me to America, and came for me two days later."  
"With a hawk?"  
"Yeah."  
"Why would she care about what happened to you? Why did she send you to America? And why did she find you later?"  
Lexi took a deep breath. This could go one of two ways, option 1: Anastasia was shocked, but impressed. Option 2: Anastasia decided it was a good enough reason to push Lexi off the monkey bars.

"Hello? Aren't you going to answer?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well? Why did she care?"  
"She cares because she's my mom."  
The silence that greeted her was deafening. Finally, Anastasia spoke. "Sorry?"  
"The Black Widow is my mother. I was born when she was still in Russia."  
"And _they_ let her keep you?"  
"They told her to. Until I was born. But she didn't listen."  
"What happened?"  
"They found out she'd kept me, and came to our house. We had to hide out somewhere, until her friend came for me. I stayed with him until she came back for me."  
"But then why are you here?"  
"We live in America, and I go to school. Two days ago, a man came and kidnapped me from my classroom. He said Ivan was upset with my mom, and that I had to take her place."  
Anastasia let out a gasp. This girl was lucky with her timing, if Ivan had been there when she'd arrived, it was highly likely she'd be dead now. "So you're really her daughter?"  
"She really is." A voice said from behind the girls.

Lexi's head whipped around, already recognizing the voice as one of the two people who could ever sneak up on her.

Natasha Romanoff stood behind the monkey bars, smiling at her daughter.

"You left yourself unprotected. Anyone could have snuck up behind you."  
Her tone told Lexi that she was joking, knowing full well that they'd trained Lexi well enough that she could have heard or seen anyone, other than her parents, that had come her way.

So Lexi smiled and did a back flip off the bars, knowing her mother would catch her.

When she did, Lexi wound her legs and arms around Natasha and hugged her tightly.

"I missed you, Мама."  
"I missed you too, Bug."  
Natasha set Lexi down and turned to Anastasia, who was watching the interaction.

"Who are you?"  
"Anastasia."  
"How old?"  
"7."  
Natasha nodded, and held her arms out to the girl. "Come here. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."  
Anastasia looked at her skeptically, but eventually made her way over to Natasha, who got her off the bars and set her on the ground.

"Lexi, portarla attraverso il foro nel cancello. Seguire per un po ', e troverete Phil. Lui ti riporterà al piano, e io ci sarò presto." _'Lexi, take her through the hole in the gate. Follow it for a bit, and you'll find Phil. He'll take you back to the plane, and I'll be there soon.'_

Lexi nodded and hugged her mother again.

"You'll come back?"  
"No matter what."  
Lexi pulled back and kissed Natasha's nose and Natasha reciprocated. It had become their customary departing ritual, neither saying goodbye.

Lexi then took Anastasia's hand, and pulled her toward the hole Natasha had created.  
They made it through with no trouble, and began running in the direction Natasha had instructed.

After about 100 meters, she saw a man leaning against a tree trunk. While Anastasia slowed, and looked for possible exit routes, Lexi ran faster.

"Phil!"  
The man looked up and smiled when he saw who'd called his name.  
"Lex!"

She ran right into his arms, and he lifted her off the ground and spun her in circles. He kissed her cheek before setting her back on the ground, and it was then that he saw Anastasia, who'd apparently decided that he could be trusted.

"Who are you?"  
"Anastasia."  
"Hi, Anastasia. My name's Phil, I work with Lexi's parents. How old are you?"  
"7."  
"Мама told me to take her and run, and that we'd find you, and that you'd take us to the plane."  
Phil nodded, and held out his hands to both girls. Lexi took it without a second thought, while Anastasia hesitated for a moment before finally taking it as well.

They walked in silence, not really knowing what to say.

"Where are we going?" Anastasia finally asked.  
"Well, once Romanoff returns, we'll fly out, and probably head to HQ. You'll most likely stay with us until we figure out what to do. If everything goes according to plan, you won't be the only kid leaving today."  
Anastasia nodded. "Leaving forever?"  
"I would assume so, yes."

It was impossible to miss the smile that made its way across Anastasia's face as she thought about a forever that didn't involve kids slaughtering each other.

* * *

Natasha made her way through the halls silently, wanting to avoid detection for as long as possible. She'd learned that Ivan was making an exception for Lexi, and was coming back to the facility to see her.

She finally reached the hallway leading to Ivan's private quarters.

_And here's where going unnoticed becomes impossible._

With that thought, Natasha attacked. She had all the guards down in a matter of seconds. She calmly walked to Ivan's bedroom door, and knocked.

Moments later, it was opened by the man himself.

"Natalia, how nice to see you."  
"That's what you think."  
With that, Natasha stabbed him with the blade she'd held out of his line of sight, a trick he'd taught her.

He instantly went down, shocked by the attack.

"Here for your daughter?"  
"I already have her."  
At this, Ivan looked sad, like his plan had hit the iceberg that would bring it down.

"Then kill me. I always told you that the day you outsmarted me would be the day you could kill me, and you've clearly done that."  
Natasha smirked at him, before shooting him in the chest, just to the left of his heart.

"With pleasure. But, you'll forgive me, I'm going to make sure it sticks."  
Ivan smiled, and Natasha shot him twice in the heart, and twice in the head, ensuring that his heart had stopped before quickly leaving the room.

She made her way to the room where he'd kept the files, and threw a grenade inside, closing the door as it exploded.

As she was making her way back outside, she noticed a distinct lack of noise. While Ivan's murder had been silent, grenades weren't, and in this facility, any noise that was slightly out of place caused everyone to attack.

Assuming the worst, Natasha made her way to the area with the bedrooms, and opened one of the doors. Inside, she found two teenagers, both of them dead.

_Dammit. God fucking dammit! _

She ran to the rest of the doors and opened them, praying to a God she didn't really believe in that at least one child would survive.

Her prayer was answered when she opened the last door.

It was a room that looked like it belonged to a 6 year old. The little girl was lying on her bed, and Natasha cursed when it appeared that she too was dead.

Just as she was about to leave, the little girl coughed, causing Natasha to turn around. Her eyes locked with a pair of bright blue ones set on a pale face surrounded by long blonde hair.

"Черная вдова?" _'Black Widow?'_

Natasha nodded as she moved into the room. The little girl jumped off the bed and ran to her, wrapping her arms around Natasha's legs.

Natasha leaned down and picked her up.

"Как тебя зовут?" _'What's your name?'  
_"Aliya."  
"How old are you?"  
"Four."  
The answer pissed Natasha off, but did her best not to show it.

"Do you want to come with me, Ali?"  
Ali nodded. "I've never had a nickname before. I like it."  
Natasha smiled at the girl as she carried her from the building. Once they got outside, Natasha set Ali on the ground, and faced the building. She pulled out two more grenades and threw one at the hallway they'd just left, and the other through a window on the second floor.

As soon as she was done, she scooped Ali off the ground, and ran toward the hole in the fence. She continued running down the path until she saw the plane ahead of her.

As she slowed down, Phil came out of the plane. She smiled when she saw her handler, and continued walking until she was hugging him.

"Are there others?"  
Natasha shook her head. "Just her. When he died, something happened. All the others were dead, except her."  
Phil nodded and turned to face Ali.

"Hi. Who are you?"  
"Aliya. But Черная вдова calls me Ali. And I like it."

Phil smiled at her and gestured for them to enter the plane.

"Aliya!"  
Anastasia came running to Natasha's side.

"Oh, Aliya. I thought something had happened to you when I didn't see you outside."  
"Nope. They didn't come get me, so I colored."  
"Do you know her?"  
Anastasia nodded. "She's my sister."  
Natasha set Ali down so the two girls could hug properly, and made her way over to her own daughter.

As soon as Natasha sat down, Lexi sat on her lap and tucked her face into her mom's shoulder. Natasha took out Lexi's hair tie, allowing the blood red curls to fall down her back, while Natasha rubbed soothing circles.

"Everybody ready to go?" Phil asked.

There were nods all around, so Phil instructed the pilots to take off.

"Мама?"  
"Yeah, Bug?"  
"What happens how?"  
"Well, now we go home. Папа and Ceara are waiting for us."  
"And them?" Lexi gestured to the two sleeping sisters sitting next to Phil.  
"They'll probably be adopted. I wouldn't be surprised if Phil signed himself and Maria up for it. You know they want kids."  
Lexi nodded. "And after that?"  
"After that, Lexi, we try and get our lives back to normal."  
Lexi nodded, and settled back into her mother's arms, where she promptly fell asleep.

* * *

"Lexi, come on, Sweetie. We're back."

Lexi's eyes fluttered open and she looked at her mom.

"Home?"  
"Yeah."  
Lexi stood up and rubbed the rest of the sleep from her eyes. The plane touched down, causing Anastasia and Ali to wake up as well. They both looked around, clearly confused, but they calmed down when they saw Phil sitting next to them.

"Jien naħseb li bħalek, Phil. Forsi inti għandek tkellem lit Maria dwar tadottahom." _'I think they like you, Phil. Maybe you should talk to Maria about adopting them.'_

Phil's only response was to shoot her a smile before standing up and lifting Ali onto his hip, and taking Anastasia's other hand.

"Are we staying with you, Phil?"  
"Yeah, Stasia, you are."  
She nodded and followed as Phil went to open the door. The three of them exited, followed by Natasha and Lexi.

Natasha had about 3 seconds to get her bearings before she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

Just as she was about to throw them off, she recognized the scent, and let herself melt into the embrace.

"I'm so happy to see you."  
"I figured as much."  
Clint pulled away and shot her a smile before leaning down and pulling Lexi into his arms.

"I missed you so much, Lex. I was so worried. But they said you fought, and I knew you'd be ok until we found you."  
Lexi smiled into Clint's neck. "I knew I had to. I knew you and Мама would be upset if I didn't at least try."

Clint kissed Lexi's cheek and began walking with Natasha into the hellicarrier. Before they got far, however, Clint noticed Phil.

"Who're they?"  
"The only two people that managed to get out. Stasia, the older one was sitting with Lexi, and Ali, the younger one, was alone in her room. I went through each room looking for kids, but they were all dead. Until I got to her."  
Clint nodded. Before he could say anything else, however, the door opened, and Maria and Ceara came running onto the flight deck.

"Lex-Lex!"  
Lexi squirmed until Clint snapped back to reality and set her down. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she was running toward her sister. She opened her arms and Ceara ran into them while Lexi lifted her off the ground.

"I missed you, Lex-Lex."  
"I missed you too, Ky-Ky."  
Their parents came over to them, and led them inside while Maria was introduced to the girls that were still clutching to him.

The family walked down the halls quietly, Lexi carrying Ceara, until they were standing outside Fury's office.

"Lexi, You're going to need to come in, too."  
"What about Ceara?"  
"She doesn't need to. Папа will wait out here with her, since he doesn't need to go in either."  
Lexi nodded, and handed her sister to her father. Before standing next to her mother.

Natasha knocked on the door, and they waited a moment until it was opened, and Fury was looking at them, a small smile on his face.

"I was beginning to think your family reunion was going to last forever." He opened the door further, motioning for Natasha and Lexi to walk in.  
"We have a lot to talk about." He stated before closing the door.

* * *

**There's the rescue! I'll probably write one more chapter, as sort of a settling in kind of thing. Stay tuned to find out what happens to Stasia and Ali, and everyone else.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**This is really more of a filler chapter. It's a lot of family fluff, so if you were hoping for more adventure, I'm sorry. But don't worry, I'll get there eventually!**

* * *

"We've sent agents in, and they've confirmed the destruction. Not a trace of the facility is left. And there were no files to be found."  
"Good."  
"And Ivan is gone? For good?"  
"As far as I know, sir."  
"And your reason for killing him?"  
"Two. First, he once told me that if I ever outsmarted him, I was allowed to kill him."  
"And the other?"  
"Alexei. Ivan's the reason that whole mess happened."  
"Who's Alexei, Мама?"  
Until that moment, Natasha had almost forgotten that Lexi was in the room. As the little girl spoke, however, Natasha gave Fury a look, making it clear that it was in his best interest to stay quiet.

"We'll talk about it at home, Bug."  
Lexi shrugged, "ok."  
"Back to the mission at hand. Lexi, can you tell me everything that happened?"  
"Of course. I was in my classroom getting something from my backpack when the walrus guy came in."  
Natasha cut her off, "The walrus guy?"  
"Yeah. He was fat, and had a mustache, and he looked like a walrus."

Natasha laughed at her daughter, happy that she didn't seem too distraught over everything.

"After that, I called Мама, and he tried to grab me. But I fought back, like I was taught, and ripped out his hair. Then he put a white rag over my face, and everything went black. When I woke up, I was arriving at a place, and Walrus showed me to a room, and told me to stay there. Later, he came back and told me I had to go outside. That's when I met Anastasia, and then Мама showed up."  
Lexi finished her story quickly, clearly not reading much into the fact that hprrible things could have happened to her.

"Well, thank you, Lexi. You were very brave."  
Lexi shrugged again, unsure of what to say. Fury didn't seem to notice, going on to the next part of his debriefing.

"That brings up the point of the kids. How many made it out?"  
"Besides Lexi? Two. They're sisters, one's 7, and the other is 4."  
"And where are they currently?"  
At that moment, the door opened, and Phil stepped into the room. "They're with me, and they will remain with me, Maria and I have spoken, and we're adopting both of them."  
"Agent Coulson…"  
"Save it Director. They've been through hell, and the only people they're talking to are Lexi, Agent Romanoff, Maria, and myself. While they could theoretically live with Agents Barton and Romanoff, they have their own children. So both girls will live with me, and that's that."

Fury sighed. He knew that once Coulson decided something, getting him to change his mind was likely or easy.

"Fine. Where are they now?"  
"Maria has them out with Barton and Ceara."  
"Have her bring them in. Don't worry, Coulson, I just want to meet them."  
Phil nodded, and left the office, returning moments later with Maria and the two girls.

"Fury, this is Anastasia, and this is Aliya. They're sisters, Stasia is 7- just like Lexi- and Ali is 4."  
"Hello, girls."  
Both girls bobbed in response, but said nothing.

"Why don't you two go with Lexi? You can meet her sister, and play or talk."  
Stasia nodded, and grabbed Ali's hand as they followed Lexi from the room.

Lexi introduced them to Clint and Ceara, and as soon as the girls learned that Clint and Natasha were married, they warmed up to him. The four kids all sat on the floor coloring together. Well, Lexi and Stasia colored, Ali and Ceara mostly scribbled.

An hour later, Maria, Phil, and Natasha emerged from Fury's office. Natasha made her way straight to the kids and gave both her daughters a kiss.

"You guys ready to go home?"  
"Yes!"  
Natasha smiled and helped them clean up. When they were done, Phil and Maria left with Ali and Stasia, having told Fury that they were taking time off to work on the adoption, and to get used to their new daughters.

* * *

When Natasha, Clint, and their kids arrived home, they ate dinner and put a movie on before deciding it was time for baths, and then Ceara's bedtime.

After Lexi helped put her sister to bed, like she did every night, she followed her parents out of the room. But rather than going to her bedroom, they went into Clint and Natasha's room.

"Alright, Lexi. You wanted to know about Alexei, right?"  
"Yeah."  
"Sit down."  
Natasha gestured to the space on the bed between herself and Clint. Once Lexi got settled, Natasha started talking.

"Alexei used to be my husband. Back when I was with the Red Room, they programmed me to fall in love with him, to see if they could break me. I followed my programing, and I thought I loved him. Then I found out I was pregnant. They told me to keep the baby, and I listened. Alexi was the father, that much I knew. When the baby was born, I was told to give her away. Before I did though, he came to visit. He held her, and the smile on his face made it seem like he was the happiest person in the world. The Red Room found out that he'd met the baby, so they had him killed. I was furious, on top of them killing him after he'd just held his daughter-when I was planning on having him raise her once they told me to get rid of the baby, they were still telling me to get rid of my baby, which they really meant as kill my baby. But I couldn't. I didn't even consider it. I remembered how happy Alexei had been, and figured I could be that happy with my daughter, so I hid her. You know the rest of the story, Lexi. I kept you hidden, until we had to leave Russia. Alexei is your biological father."  
"Is that why my name's Alexis?"  
"Not really. It's more of a coincidence. I'd heard the name years before, and knew many people with the name- it's Russian, after all. I thought it was pretty, so I used it."

Lexi nodded and thought it over for a bit. Finally, she spoke.

"Мама?"  
"Yeah, Bug?"  
"I don't want him to be my dad."  
"What do you mean, Lexi?"  
"Well, I already have a dad. Ястреб is my папа. I don't know Alexei, so I don't want him to be my dad."  
Lexi said it so plainly, as if it were no big deal whatsoever- that it was normal for kids to say such things. But when Clint heard what she said, he couldn't help the tears that came to his eyes. He knew that he was legally her father, he had been for years, but after her attitude issues before Ceara was born, it meant the world to Clint to hear her say that he was the only father she wanted.

"You don't have to worry, Lex. I'll be your dad." Clint replied.  
"Promise?"  
"Yes. As long as you want me to be."  
Lexi threw her arms around Clint's neck, hugging him tightly. "I want you to be my папа forever."  
"Ok, then."

Natasha watched as Lexi snuggled herself into Clint's side. Even after all their time together, she could never get over how perfectly they were as father and daughter. Clint would do anything for her, just like he would for Ceara. And Lexi would always make sure he knew she loved him. If a person didn't know about their past, it would have been easy to think that they were biologically related.

An hour later, after Lexi had fallen asleep, and Natasha was about to follow, Clint carefully got out of bed, and carried Lexi to her bedroom. He helped her under the covers and tucked her in, and he began to sing the song that had become her new nighttime song.

_Buachaill ón Éirne mé 's bhréagfainn cailín deas óg  
Ní iarrfainn bó spré léi tá mé fhéin saibhir go leor  
'S liom Corcaigh da mhéid é, dhá thaobh  
a' ghleanna 's Tír Eoghain  
'S mura n-athraí mé béasaí 's mé n' t-oidhr'  
ar Chontae Mhaigh Eo  
Rachaidh mé 'márach ag dhéanamh leanna fán choill  
Gan choite gan bád gan gráinnín brach' ar bith liom  
Ach duilliúr na gcraobh mar éadaigh leapa os mo chionn  
'S óró sheacht m'anam déag thú 's tú 'féachaint orm anall  
Buachailleacht bó, mo leo, nár chleacht mise ariamh  
Ach ag imirt 's ag ól le h'ógmhná deasa an tsliabh  
Má chaill mé mo stór ní moide gur chaill mé mo chiall  
A's ní mó liom do phóg ná'n bhróg atáim ag caitheamh le bliain_

When he finished, he kissed the top of Lexi's head and turned off the light. When he returned to his and Natasha's bedroom, he crawled under the covers, and Natasha scooted back so that her back was to his chest.

"She asleep?"  
"She was out before the song was half done."  
Natasha nodded. "Thank you, Clint."  
"For what, Tash?"  
"For being so wonderful that Lexi wants you to be her dad."  
"What can I say? I'm just naturally wonderful." Clint joked.  
Natasha rolled over so that she was facing him. "I mean it, Clint. All those years ago, when you found out about her, you could have turned away, but you didn't. You loved her. You adopted her. And when Ceara was born, you didn't change anything. You still told Lexi over and over how much you loved her. And you didn't have to. Thank you."

Clint leaned in and kissed Natasha's lips softly. "I didn't have a choice, Tasha. She needed a dad, and I was more than happy to fill in. I wouldn't change it for the world. I love being her dad. I love when I come home, and she runs to hug me. I love moments like that, where she tells me that I'm the only dad she wants. Because its then that I know that she loves me as much as I love her."  
Natasha smiled and kissed Clint again. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face in his chest.

"I love you, Clint."  
"I love you too, Tasha."  
They fell asleep like that, holding each other until the sun came up.

* * *

**There you go! I hope you all liked the fluff at the end. If this seems almost too fluffy, don't worry. In a few chapters, I'll get to some more drama, so stay tuned.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	10. Chapter 10

The next few months saw everyone getting used to the new additions to Phil and Maria's family. They spent so much time with Clint and Natasha that Stasia and Ali felt like their own daughters, and Natasha and Clint both finally understood Phil and Maria's connection with Lexi and Ceara.

Stasia had been enrolled at Lexi's school, and was even placed in the same class. It had been rough at first, since Stasia's only real experience with school had been the Red Room's version, and the first time she hadn't done perfectly on a test, she'd had a breakdown and started crying. It was only after Lexi spent 10 minutes whispering to her in Russian that she calmed down enough to go to the nurse, where Phil was called to come pick her up.

After school that day, Lexi had gone to her teacher and explained what she could of Stasia's past, and Ms. Willis seemed to understand.

Aside from a few other panic attacks, Stasia adjusted to her new life fairly well. She spent all of her free time at school with Lexi, usually sitting as high as they could on the playground. The talked about everything, except the Red Room. They silently agreed that that topic was never to be broached, unless absolutely necessary.

As the months passed, bringing both Lexi and Stasia's 8th birthdays with them, they grew to be best friends, hardly separated, unless they were with their own parents.

Ceara and Ali were much the same. Shortly after the girls arrived from Russia, Ceara had celebrated her 4th birthday, and when Ali discovered that they were the same age, she decided that they would be best friends. Since neither of them went to preschool, they spent their days at SHIELD with one of their parents watching them, often switching between parents. Ali had a much easier time adjusting than Stasia, mostly because she hadn't been subjected to the same things as Stasia. Since she wasn't 5 yet, Ivan had kept her in her room most of the time, allowing her out to play twice a day, and Stasia was allowed to visit for 5 minutes every night.

Regardless of the ease of adjustment, after the first 6 months, it was almost impossible to tell that either girl was originally from Russia. They still spoke Russian at home and around each other, and Lexi and Stasia often spoke Spanish together as well. Ceara and Ali were both learning other languages too, while still mastering English.

The four children were in the gym one Saturday morning, Lexi and Stasia working on gymnastics while Ali and Ceara were talking to each other, when Natasha and Maria entered.

"Lexi, Ceara, can I talk to you, please?"  
Both girls nodded and made their way to Natasha, while the other girls went to Maria.

"Director Fury just told Папа and I that we have a month of vacation time, and that we need to take it. Since Lexi's about to go on summer break, we thought it would be fun to spend a month at our house in Alaska. What do you girls think?"  
"Yes!"  
Natasha smiled at their response. "That's what I thought. We're going home to start packing, and we're leaving on Wednesday, right after Lexi gets out of school."  
"What about Stasia and Ali, Мама?"  
"Phil and Maria have time off too. They're taking their girls to Europe. But you'll see each other when we all get back, ok?"  
Lexi nodded and went over to hug Stasia goodbye.

"I'll see you on Monday, ok?"  
"Yeah. They told us we're going to Europe for a month."  
"I know. We're going to Alaska."  
Stasia grew quiet before speaking again. "What if I have another one?"  
"Panic attack?"  
"Yeah."  
"You'll be fine. Both of your parents know how to deal with them."  
"I guess."  
"It'll be fun, Stasia, I promise."  
"I know."  
The girls smiled as they hugged again, and followed their respective mothers out the door.

* * *

The next few days passed quickly, and before Lexi knew it, they were in the car on the way to the airport. SHIELD had issued both them and Phil's family private jets for their journeys, so they didn't have to deal with the security checkpoint once they arrived at the airport.

The flight to Alaska was relatively boring. Lexi and Ceara watched movies and played games while Clint and Natasha sat together in silence, somehow still communicating.

When they arrived at the Alaska airport, they made their way to the parking lot where they kept their car when they were gone, and once everybody had piled in, they were on their way to the safe house.

They arrived two hours later. It was a large house with two floors, and countless rooms.

On the first level were the kitchen, complete with and island that doubled as their table, the living room, with a massive TV and multiple gaming systems, the laundry room, and the gym. It took about half the house, and was complete with gymnastics equipment, along with a boxing ring and punching bags.

The second floor had the master bedroom, with an attached bathroom holding a Jacuzzi tub and a large shower. There were also 4 bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, though not as grand as the master bathroom. The second floor also held the library, which took up the half of the floor not occupied by the bedrooms. There were countless books, ranging from Russian literature to German philosophy, with everything in between.

But the coolest part of the house was the basement. It doubled as their weapons storage, and had two full-length shooting ranges for practicing.

When they arrived, both girls ran to their bedrooms and dumped their backpacks, leaving their dad to carry up their suitcases while they watched a movie.

"Girls, aren't you going to help?"  
"Nope!" They chimed together without taking their eyes off the TV.

Natasha smiled at their response, having known their answer before she asked.

Once Clint had put all the bags in the proper room, he helped Natasha make a list, and she went to the grocery store to get food for their time at the house.

"Папа?"  
"Yeah, Ceara?"  
"What if Fury need you?"  
"We won't know. We don't have our phones on, and he doesn't know where we are."  
"He doesn't?"  
"Nope."  
"But what if he needs something?"  
"Well, Lex, he said we were off for a month. So he shouldn't need anything. And if he does, it can wait."  
Lexi smiled at Clint as she stood and made her way over to sit on his lap.

"What are you doing, Ceara?"  
"Coloring."  
"Anything pretty?"  
"Everything I color is pretty."  
Clint chuckled at her response, and started laughing harder when Lexi started mouthing 'no it's not.'

"Why Папа laughing?" Ceara asked tearfully.  
"I'm laughing at Lexi, not you."  
"Promise?"  
"Of course."

Ceara nodded once, and went back to her picture.

Natasha returned not much later, carrying bags full of food, and a pizza box.

"I didn't feel like cooking."  
Clint shrugged and nodded, and called the girls to the kitchen. They ate around the island, talking and laughing. When they were done, the sent the girls back to watch TV before their baths, while Natasha and Clint cleaned the kitchen.

"We're almost normal, Tasha."  
Natasha snorted at his comment. "Clint, we're only normal when we're here. That's like once a year. It hardly counts."  
Clint shrugged, but didn't respond. They finished cleaning in silence, stealing kisses along the way.

When they returned to the living room to announce bath time, Lexi gave them a look.

"That certainly took you a while."  
Natasha smirked at her daughter, causing Lexi's smile to grow even bigger.

They turned off the TV and made their way upstairs, where Clint started the water and added plenty of bubbles to account for the inevitable bubble fight, and Lexi and Ceara grabbed their pajamas.

30 minutes, and several sacrificed bubbles later, bath time was done, and Clint helped Ceara towel off. Lexi went to play in her room while her parents tucked Ceara in, and when they were done, they came into her room.

"Bedtime, Bug."  
"Mom! It's early."  
"I know. But it's been a long day. And you still want to work out with me, right?"  
Lexi sighed. "Yes."  
"Then bedtime."  
Lexi made her way to the bed without a fight, she _was_ kind of tired. Clint tucked her in tightly, and began singing. When he was done, Natasha leaned in and kissed Lexi's cheek.

"I'll wake you up at 5, ok? We'll be done at 7, and after a quick shower, you can go back to bed."  
"Ok."  
Natasha smiled as she tapped Lexi's nose, and followed Clint from the room.

"I thought the point of vacations were to _not_ work out."  
"I know. But Lexi wants to do gymnastics, and I haven't done it in a while, so why not? It's not going to be like her normal practices, it'll mostly be for fun."  
Clint smiled at Natasha, knowing full well that their oldest daughter didn't do anything slightly competitive _just for fun_. Lexi would push herself to her breaking point, if her parents let her. As it was, they had a hard enough time forcing her to stop working out.

They ended their conversation there, hunkering in for the night. Natasha squirmed closer to Clint, and burrowed her face into his shoulder, allowing his scent to pull her into unconsciousness.

Clint kissed the top of her head, and followed her to the land of dreams shortly afterward.

* * *

**I know this chapter isn't my greatest. But I do have a very clear idea of where this is going; I just need enough time to pass for it to get there. So I hope you guys are ok with a few more filler chapters. But I promise, it'll be worth it!**

**Also, it might take me a while to update this. I've decided to update my Harry Potter stories- shameless plug, so my creativeness will be focused on that for a little while, but I'll try to get out another chapter of this story before the end of the year.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**So this wormed its way into my brain, and wouldn't let me sleep until I wrote it. So my plan to update my other stories is on hold. But, this is my last day of school until January, so I'll be able to work on them over my break.**

* * *

Lexi and Natasha fell into a rhythm with their workouts. Natasha opened Lexi's door at 5:45 exactly. Right as she turned on the light, she tossed an apple to Lexi. The first few days, the apple hit Lexi, since she hadn't woken up enough to catch it.

"That could have been a knife. Do better tomorrow."

After three days, though, Lexi taught herself to wake up when she heard Natasha's footsteps, so she was always awake when the lights were turned on.  
With that, Natasha turned around and left the room, leaving Lexi to get herself out of bed and into workout clothes.

After she was dressed, Lexi would make her way to the kitchen where Natasha was waiting for her. The first morning, Natasha could easily tell how tired her daughter was.

"You're sure you want to do this, Lexi? You can sleep in, you know. Besides, we'll be spending enough time in the gym, assuming you still want to do intensive gymnastics training."  
"I do."  
"Ok. Then let's go."  
The two girls would make their way out of the kitchen and to the training center. Their morning workout was only an hour long, they spent the first half running on the treadmills, and the second half, Natasha spent teaching Lexi hand to hand combat.

When they finished, Lexi took a quick shower and pulled on sweats before joining Natasha in the kitchen again. Ceara and Clint were naturally late sleepers, and when they were given the option, they didn't wake up until noon. Natasha had told Clint, though, that even though they were on vacation, Ceara was old enough to start learning how to use a bow, so they'd decided to start her training while they were in Alaska. While Lexi was working on gymnastics, Ceara was outside learning how to properly use a bow, since guns weren't allowed until they were 10.

Clint had decided that waking up at 9 was a good compromise between him and Ceara wanting to sleep late, and Natasha promising to kick his ass if he let either of them slept that late.

By the time Clint and Ceara joined them in the kitchen, Lexi and Natasha had finished breakfast, usually nothing more complicated than cereal, and would sit with Clint and Ceara while they ate.

At 9:20, Lexi would make her way back to her room, and change into one of her leotards, along with a pair of spandex shorts. Before leaving her room, Lexi would grab her grips from her bedside table, and she'd make her way back to the gym where Natasha was waiting for her.

They spent the first chunk of their workout in relative silence, mostly one-sentence comments back and forth sporadically.

The one conversation that was repeated everyday was Natasha's reiteration of the gym rules. Namely, you're allowed to brush off small things, like sprains and muscle aches. But if you got caught trying to brush off something like a broken bone, you were banned from the gym.

They spent the first hour stretching, ensuring that pulled muscles weren't among Lexi's worry.

After stretching, they moved to workouts.

"Hang on the bar, toes must touch. 50. Go."  
And Lexi went. Halfway through, her abs burned, but she forced the pain out of her mind, reminding herself that this had been her idea.

When she was done, her toes were a little banged up from where she'd hit them on a bar, but it was nothing she wasn't used to.

"Rope. Climb it in under 30 seconds, or you're doing it again. You can use your feet, this week."  
Natasha pushed a button and one of the ceiling tiles shifted and a rope dropped down.

Lexi made her way over and started pulling herself up. When she got to the top, she touched the ceiling, and yelled down to her mother before making her way back down.

"28.4 seconds. I want you at 20 by the end of the week."  
Lexi nodded, and made her way to the uneven bars, and tugged her grips on.

Natasha came up behind her and lifted her so that she could reach the top one. "25."  
Lexi jerked her head, and started the pull-ups. She absolutely hated them, but she had to admit, half the things she did would be nearly impossible if she didn't do them. And it was her goal to be able to do at least half as many as Clint by the end of their vacation.

When that was done, Natasha would finally let her start on other things. The first day, Lexi had made her way to the beam- her personal favorite- when Natasha had called her over to the floor area.

"You're going across, however many times it takes. Handstands. You have to stay up for 5 seconds each time. No more, no less. If you don't hold it long enough, or hold it to long, you're starting that lap over again. This will help with your fighting as well, it's critical that you learn how to count as a second nature. Go."  
And Lexi went. After 5 turns, Natasha pronounced her done, and told her to move to front walkovers. Then it was back walkovers, then round offs, then round off handsprings, then round off handspring flips. And on and on they went, until Lexi felt like she was going to explode. But she pushed those feelings aside, and carried on, knowing that this would make her better.

Finally, Natasha allowed them to move to the different events. Beam was first, and Lexi spent 30 minutes doing skills up and down the beam, until Natasha decided she could start learning to tumble on the beam.

After two hours at the beam, they moved to vault, and Lexi began learning a new vault, determined to have it perfect by the end of the month, even if she had to work for hours a day.

They went around the room, spending two hours at each event. Bars were fun, but the most difficult. Floor was just stupid. Lexi didn't see the point of dancing around 'like a freak', and she made sure Natasha knew she didn't like it.

They finished around 5:30, and while Lexi soaked in an ice bath in a special room off the gym, Natasha started dinner. By this time, Clint and Ceara were done training, but would usually stay outside playing. They would usually enter the house right as dinner finished cooking, and Ceara would run to get Lexi to come to the table. The family ate together, laughing at each other, and talking about nothing in particular.

After dinner, Lexi and Ceara went into the living room to watch TV together while Natasha and Clint cleaned up the kitchen, and then made their way into the gym to spar. Lexi and Ceara would usually end up coming in to watch, often cheering on one parent.

When they finished sparring, it was showers and pajamas, and they all sat in the living room to watch a movie together, before Lexi and Ceara went to bed.

After singing their children to sleep, Natasha and Clint would crawl into bed and just lay together, sometimes making love, sometimes simply too tired.

Every night before they fell asleep, Natasha would situate herself so that she was lying with her head on Clint's chest, and his arm was wrapped around her shoulders.

"I love you, Tasha."  
"I love you, too, Clint."  
Natasha would kiss Clint's chest while Clint kissed her head, and they'd fall asleep and sleep peacefully.

Until Natasha woke up at 5:30 to do it all again.

* * *

**There you go! Hopefully this will leave my brain alone for a little bit, so I can work on my other stories. But if not, then I'll be updating relatively quickly.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it's taken so long for me to update this. I'd written this, but had never had a chance to add it to the story.**

* * *

The month in Alaska came to and end too early for Lexi's liking. She'd improved tremendously, but she always thought there was room for improvement.

On their last day, she decided to wake up at 5 and make her way to the gym. When Natasha went to wake her up, she was scared when she found Lexi's door open, and her daughter not in bed.

She ran down the stairs to the gym, where she found Lexi hanging from the high bar, arms shaking as she continued pulling her self up.

"Lexi!"  
Lexi's head snapped to the door, and her shock caused her hands to slip, sending her tumbling to the mat under the bars.

"Мама! What was that for?"  
"I didn't know where you were! I went to your room to wake you up, and you weren't there."  
"Sorry! I just wanted more time to work."  
Natasha sighed. "Have you eaten anything?"  
"I had some toast."  
Natasha shook her head. "What number were you at?"  
"57."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. Папа can do at least 100, and I wanted to be able to do half of that."  
Natasha smiled. "Well, ok then."

Lexi nodded once, before going back to her workout. She made her way to the beam and began working up and down. Natasha smiled as she watched her daughter training. Lexi possessed the grace that Natasha prided herself on, combined with a raw strength that made all her movements look effortless.

Lexi's concentration was impeccable as well. Natasha seriously doubted that anything short of a nuclear bomb going off would jar her from practicing.

Lexi made her rounds, showing off all her improvements. She spent a few hours at each apparatus, occasionally falling, but never staying down for longer than a moment. She'd brush her hands on her hips twice, before jumping back into whatever she was doing.

They both lost track of time, so caught up in what Lexi was doing, that when Clint and Ceara came into the room, It was a complete shock. Natasha was even more shocked when Clint told her that it was nearly 5 pm.

"Lexi, time to stop."  
"I just need 30 more minutes."  
"Lexi, you haven't eaten all day!"  
"That's not true! I had breakfast, and I took breaks every hour, and made sure I ate."  
"Fine. You have 30 minutes. And then you're done."  
Lexi nodded, and turned her focus back on the vault. She'd been working on her newest vault, and although she'd told herself that she wanted to have it perfect by the end of the month, it was proving to be the one goal she was having trouble accomplishing.

She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. She snapped them open after a moment, and began running full speed down the mat.  
The second her feet pushed off the springs and her hands hit the vault table, Lexi knew she'd done something right.  
Her suspicions were confirmed when her feet hit the mat, and she didn't wobble in the slightest.

She paused for a split second, before she felt arms around her, and her mother was pulling her into the air, twirling her around.

"Wonderful, Lexi."  
"Really?"  
"Absolutely perfect."  
Lexi smiled into the hug, a grin spreading across her face.

When Natasha set her down, she hugged Clint.

"Pull up challenge?" He whispered into her ear.

Lexi nodded, and the two of them made their way to the bar. As soon as they were standing under it, Natasha helped Lexi up just as Clint jumped up.

They began right away, breathing heavily as they continued.

After a few minutes, Lexi's arms were starting to ache but she forced herself to keep going, determined to go until she literally fell off the bar.  
Judging by Clint's breathing, he was starting to feel it in his muscles. Lexi took comfort in this, hoping she'd be able to keep up with him better.  
After 7 minutes, the ache was proving to be too much, so Lexi let go and dropped to the floor.

"Good job, Lexi."  
Lexi nodded, focusing on her breathing.

A minute later, Clint dropped down next to her, breathing heavily.

"Wow, Lex. You're getting good."  
"Yeah she is. Lexi, you did 126. Clint, you did 150."  
Lexi smiled to herself.

"I think that deserves a celebration."  
"What kind?"  
"Well, while you two were down here working yourselves into the ground, I was in the kitchen, making baklava."  
"Really?!"  
"Yeah."  
Lexi smiled at Clint as she jumped up from where she was sitting, and made her way to the gym door.

"Lex, you have to wait for us."  
"Why? You guys will be lucky if there's any left."  
"Exactly why you have to wait."  
Lexi didn't respond. Instead, she smirked at Clint, and scampered out of the gym. She ran down the hall to the kitchen, where the baklava was resting on the stove. Lexi grabbed a knife and made her way to the dish, and cut a small section. She popped it into her mouth, savoring the taste. It was still warm, but not hot so Lexi cut another small piece and was about to pop it into her mouth as well when a voice sounded behind her.

"Drop the Baklava, kid."  
Lexi turned around and found Clint standing in the entrance to the kitchen. Without breaking eye contact, Lexi brought the food to her mouth, and dropped it in. as she chewed, Lexi smirked at Clint.

"There, I dropped it." She said when she swallowed.

Clint just sighed and shook his head. He made his way to where Lexi stood, and held his hand out for the knife. Lexi handed it to him without a word, and left the kitchen to shower and change her clothes.

When she reentered the kitchen, she found the rest of her family sitting at the Island. She made her way over to join them, grabbing the plate that had been left out for her, and sat down to eat.

When they finished eating, Lexi helped clear the plates and they made their way into the living room to watch a movie.

By the time it was over, Ceara was asleep, and Lexi was on her way to joining her. Clint carried Ceara up to her room while Natasha pulled Lexi to her feet. The two girls made their way upstairs, and while Lexi went into the bathroom to change, Natasha sat on her bed. When Lexi emerged, she made her way to the bed and climbed under the covers just as Clint reentered the room.

When both girls had fallen asleep, Clint and Natasha made their way to the bedroom and fell asleep quickly.

* * *

The next morning, they were awake early and on their way to the airport to meet the SHIELD jet that was bringing them home. The ride home was much the same as the flight to Alaska had been. Lexi and Ceara entertained themselves while Clint and Natasha were silently conversing about their plans for the next couple days.

After the jet landed, the family made their way back to their house, where Lexi and Ceara unpacked while Natasha called Maria. Phil and Maria and their girls had returned the day before, and were totally up to having dinner with Natasha and Clint and their kids.

"Girls, we're leaving, let's go!" Natasha called an hour later.

"Coming, Мама!"  
They piled into the car and drove to the diner Natasha, Clint, and Lexi had gone to after the physical part of her agent exam. When they arrived, Phil and his family were already there.

As soon as Lexi was out of the car, Stasia was running toward her, and the two girls were embracing as though they hadn't seen each other in years.

"I missed you, Stasia."  
"I missed you too, Lexi."  
The rest of the families were embracing and catching up, so the two oldest girls joined them, and they all made their way inside.

Not long after, their food had arrived, and they were all munching and talking happily.

When all the food had been finished, the families parted ways with promises to get together the next day.

* * *

**There you go. Sorry if this chapter feels kind of funny. I'm trying my best to move this along, because I have plans for where I intend for it to end up, it's just taking longer than I had thought it would for the story to actually get to that point. But hopefully, It'll be there in a few more chapters.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

After their month long vacation, Clint, Natasha, Maria, and Phil threw themselves back into work. Phil and Maria planned missions that Natasha and Clint went on, always doing their best to keep the two agents safe.

There were countless places they visited, always remembering to bring home little trinkets for all four girls. From postcards to snow globes to little toys that could only be found in tiny countries, the girls had amassed quite a collection of little things from all over the world.

Lexi and Stasia went into third grade while Ali and Ceara began kindergarten. The younger girls found that they enjoyed school, especially since they were in the same class, as were Stasia and Lexi.  
9th and 5th birthdays came and went, along with small parties, complete with family and food.

Overall, everything for the two families was as smooth as it could be. They saw each other every day, and soon it seemed as though they were one big family rather than two separate families.

And then Budapest happened.

Natasha and Clint were assigned to follow, and eventually take down, a notorious drug dealer. It would be a month long mission, their longest continuous time away from their daughters.

Fury was nice enough though, to give them three days before they had to head out. The first day, Natasha took Ceara out of school to spend the day with her, while Clint did the same with Lexi.

Natasha and Ceara went shopping and to the movies, before going to a local gym where Ceara was able to get all of her basic gymnastic skills down. Afterwards, they went out to dinner at Ceara's favorite restaurant.

Clint and Lexi spent the day at a gun range. For the first half of their time, Lexi and Clint worked with their bows, since Lexi had been using a smaller version of a real bow since she'd turned 7 and had gotten home from the Red Room.

After a few hours, though, Clint called her over to him, and handed her a gun, telling her that although she'd originally been told she had to wait until she was 10, he and Natasha had decided that she could learn to use a gun now. They spent the first hour going over gun safety, before finally moving to the targets. Clint was truly surprised to find that her aim was just as good with a gun as it was with her bow.

When they were done at the range, they went out to dinner, before heading home. The next day, they switched parents, and Ceara spent the day with Clint, part of it at a gun range working with her bow, the rest of it at a local amusement park.

Natasha and Lexi didn't do anything related to training. Instead, they stayed home and watched all the movies they'd had when they were in Russia. When they were fortunate enough to have a whole day just to themselves, they always did the same thing. They watched movies all day, and only spoke Russian. Shortly after moving into their house, they'd found a wonderful Russian restaurant, where the owner and cook was actually from Russia, so they went there for dinner. Spending time with Lexi doing everything they used to made Natasha calm enough to not worry about her next mission, something that was sorely needed for this one.

On the last day, Clint and Natasha spent the day together, getting ready. They'd dropped their daughters off with Maria that morning, promising to stop by and say goodbye before leaving.

When they arrived at Maria's house later that afternoon, Lexi had come running to the door.

"Мама!"  
"Hey, Bug."  
Lexi hugged her mother tightly, before giving Clint just as big of a hug. Ceara followed suit, hugging her parents as tightly as she could manage.

The adults also hugged Ali and Stasia, before kissing all the girls' heads, and heading back to the door.

"Мама, wait!"  
Natasha turned around to find Lexi running toward her.

"What, Lexi?"  
"You almost forgot!"  
Natasha smiled as she crouched slightly, allowing Lexi to kiss the tip of her nose. When Lexi pulled back, Natasha kissed her nose as well.

"Thank you, Bug."  
"I love you, Мама."  
"I love you, too."

With that, Natasha and Clint left.

* * *

The month passed slowly for Lexi. She was used to her parents leaving, but it had never been for this long. Every night, she sang her sister to sleep, trying to keep some normalcy for the little girl. Lexi tried singing herself to sleep, although it never worked as well as when her dad did it.

Natasha and Clint were allowed to call once a week, a day that all four girls looked forward to.

Finally, the month was over, and Natasha and Clint's return day arrived. Lexi sat in the living room looking out the window for her parents' car, but it never arrived. Assuming that the debriefing had taken longer than planned, and they'd gone to the house, allowing the girls to spend one more night with their friends, Lexi went to sleep. But when they didn't show up the next day, or the day after that, she started to get worried. She tried to hide it from Ali and Ceara, but Stasia saw right through her, but she never said anything in front of the younger girls.

Finally, Maria got a phone call. Immediately after she answered, she went pale. It wasn't terribly noticeable, but Lexi was looking for it. As soon as Maria hung up, she grabbed her purse and left the house.

"Maria!"  
Maria turned around to find Lexi following her. "What, Lexi?"  
"What's wrong?"  
"Nothing."  
"Don't lie to me. Something happened to my parents, didn't it?"  
Maria sighed. She knew Lexi would be able to spot a lie. "Yes. I don't know how bad it is, so I'm going to find out. I need you to stay here, but I promise I'll call as soon as I know anything. And I'll definitely be here before any of you go to bed."

Lexi nodded, trying not to let her fear show. Maria came over to her and wrapped her arms around Lexi.

"They'll be ok, Lex. You know they're strong."  
"I know." Lexi whispered.

With that, Lexi turned to walk inside, taking a deep breath and making her face blank before she went to find the other girls.

* * *

Maria returned at 11 that night.

"You didn't call."  
She jumped when she heard the voice, but as soon as she found Lexi in the armchair, she calmed down.

"Sorry."  
"And everyone else is asleep."  
"I know. You should be too."  
Lexi shook her head. "You lied. Twice. Which makes me think that my parents aren't going to be fine."  
"I'm sorry, Lexi."  
"So what happened?"  
"The intel was bad, they were made. It turned nasty, and they had to fight their way out."  
"How bad are their injuries?"  
"Clint was shot in the leg, but he'll be fine. Natasha just has a concussion."  
"That doesn't tell me why they didn't come. So what aren't you telling me?"  
"Natasha was unconscious, and Clint tried to get her out of the building. He paused and let out an explosive arrow, but when he went to pick Natasha up again, her hand smacked the trigger, and it exploded, sending all sorts of crap falling on them."  
"And?"  
"And now they're in a coma."  
Lexi nodded. She had expected something along those lines from the beginning.

Without another word, she stood and made her way to bed, pushing all thoughts from her mind before falling asleep, now grateful for her mother teaching her the value of such a skill.

* * *

The next morning, Maria took all the girls to the SHIELD facility so they could visit. Phil was already there, having not come home the night before.

"Only family's allowed in. So, Stasia, Ali, you're not allowed to go in."  
Both girls looked hurt, but nodded anyways. Lexi took a deep breath and held her hand out for Ceara to hold. Ceara grasped it tightly, and together they made their way into their parents' room, Lexi minutely shaking her head when Maria made to follow them.

When they were inside, Lexi closed the door, and picked Ceara up off the floor, before looking at her parents.

Their beds were right next to each other's, with no space in between. Lexi carried her sister over to their father, where she gently placed her on the bed, before sitting next to her.

"Lexi?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Will they wake up?"  
"I hope so, Ky."  
Ceara nodded. "What happens if they don't?"  
"I don't know. But we're not going to think about that, ok?"  
"Kay."  
Lexi kissed her sister's head before making her way to sit next to her mother. Both girls sat in silence for a while, both losing track of time. Finally, the door opened, and Director Fury walked in.

"Hello, girls."  
"Hi." Ceara answered. Lexi just nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Maria and Phil are going to take you home. You'll be staying with them for the time being."  
"Kay." Ceara got off the bed and walked over to Fury. "Lex, come on."  
"In a minute, Ky. I'll be right out."

Ceara nodded, and left the room.

Fury waited, but Lexi made no move to get off Natasha's bed.

"Lexi, come on."  
"No."  
"Lex, you can't do anything for them."  
"I can do a hell of a lot more than you did."  
"I'm sorry."  
"No, you're not. If you were, you'd be telling me that you're not sending them into situations like that again. You'd be saying that you're going to force them to take another vacation. You'd be acting like they're going to wake up. But you're acting like they're already dead. So you're not sorry."  
"Lexi-"  
"Please leave. Tell Maria I'm staying here until they wake up."  
"Lexi-"  
Lexi finally looked up at him. "I said please leave. I want to be alone."  
Fury sighed, but nodded. He left the room, closing it behind him.

Lexi could vaguely hear him talking to Maria and Phil, and she hoped they'd listen, and not come into the room. The door opened, but before she could get mad, Lexi saw her sister standing in the doorway.

"Lexi, we're going home."  
"I know. I'm going to stay here, Ceara."  
"I stay too."  
"No. Go home with them, Ceara."  
"I don't want to."  
Ceara made her way to stand next to Lexi, and stared up at her sister. Lexi sighed, but slipped off the bed.

"Why don't you want to go home?"  
"I don't wanna be 'lone."  
"You won't be. You'll have Maria and Phil and Stasia and Ali."  
"But they're not you."  
"Ceara, please go with them."  
"No. I scared."  
Lexi pulled her sister into a hug. "I know, Ceara. I'm scared too."  
"Will you sing to me?"  
"If I do, will you promise to go with Phil and Maria?"  
"Yeah."  
Lexi nodded, and began singing. It was the same Russian lullaby that Natasha had once sung to her, until Lexi decided it belonged to her sister.  
When she finished, she kissed Ceara's head, and gave her a light push toward the door.

Once the door was closed again, Lexi walked over to Clint and kissed his forehead lightly.

"Is breá liom tú, Daidí." _'I love you, Daddy.'_

She made her way back to Natasha's bed, and sat back in her spot.

"Мама, я хочу, чтобы ты просыпаешься, пожалуйста. Пожалуйста, не оставляйте меня снова." _'Mommy, I need you to wake up, please. Please don't leave me again.'_

There was no response, not that Lexi expected one. Instead, she shifted so that her head was resting on Natasha's shoulder. She kissed her mother's cheek before closing her eyes and slipping into sleep, trying not to think about what would happen if her parents never woke up.

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffhanger-y ending! Except that I'm not really sorry…  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**I realized that I couldn't leave you guys like that, so I decided to be nice and write another chapter, although this one is kind of short. Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha and Clint didn't wake up the next day, or the day after that. Or the week after that. Or even the month after that.

They were indefinitely in a coma. But neither one was brain dead, so they had a decent chance of waking up. They just… weren't.

* * *

After the first month, Lexi refused to allow Ceara to see them more than twice a week, after the little girl woke up screaming one night because of a nightmare that was so horrible, when she'd tried to tell her older sister, she had a panic attack.

* * *

As the second month dragged on, Lexi continued to visit them everyday after school, filling them in on what she and Ceara did that day. Every weekend, Lexi would spend the entire weekend in their room- going so far as to sleep in their room, hoping that _something _about her would wake them up. The only time she left on the weekends was the 2 hours Maria mandated that she leave. While Lexi and Ceara continued living with Phil and Maria, the couple decided to leave small decisions up to Lexi, since she knew Natasha and Clint better than anyone, except Natasha and Clint themselves. They figured that she was old enough, and responsible enough to make small decisions for her sister.

* * *

The third month was particularly difficult for all of them, since their parents were going to be in the hospital for Christmas. Ceara had given her letter to Santa to Lexi, asking her sister to mail it to the North Pole for her. Lexi agreed, but before sending it, decided to look at it, just to get an idea of what to get her sister for Christmas. The letter was simple, just a single sentence, '_Please have Мама and Папа wake up._' Reading that, in Ceara's childish handwriting broke Lexi's heart.

Natasha and Clint didn't wake up on Christmas, not that anyone was really expecting them to. Regardless, Phil and Maria and the four little girls spent the day in their room, having their own small Christmas. Everyone left their presents for the couple in the room, so they could open them when they woke up.

* * *

The fourth month was slightly better. Ceara had stopped having nightmares, and Lexi was finally able to only wake up twice at night, a big improvement from the previous 7 she'd been at.

* * *

The fifth month was terrifying, because Clint almost died. Lexi was sitting in the room, talking about school, when Clint's heart started racing, causing the machines to beep wildly. After the doctors managed to calm him down, Lexi decided it was a good time to leave. It wasn't until she was lying in bed that night that she realized Clint's episode had started when Lexi told them that one of the kids in Ceara and Ali's class had been making fun of Ceara. Lexi smiled to herself as she fell asleep, thinking that her parents were closer to the surface than she'd originally thought.

* * *

The sixth month brought Ali and Lexi's birthdays, 6 and 10 respectively. On Lexi's birthday, Maria gave her a present that Natasha and Clint had been planning on giving her on her 10th birthday. As she finished pulling off the paper and opening the box, Lexi's breath caught in her throat as she saw the hand gun in the box. That weekend was the first one since they'd entered the hospital that Lexi didn't spend all her time in the room with them. Instead, she went to SHIELD's gun range, and familiarized herself with her present.

* * *

The seventh month brought Stasia's 10th birthday. The 6 of them spent the day together, laughing and enjoying each other's company. It wasn't until that night that Lexi realized she hadn't been to see her parents that day. It was the first time since she'd found out they were in a coma that she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The eighth month was happy, since it brought about the end of the school year. But it was also Clint's 30th birthday, so the happy feelings didn't last long.

* * *

The ninth month proved conflicting for Lexi. Part of her wanted to spend all of her time in her parents' room, but another part wanted to not even set foot in SHIELD's hospital. She finally decided to spend an hour a day with them, leaving the rest of her time for her to be a kid.

* * *

The tenth month was horrible. It was Ceara's birthday, and all she'd been asking for was for at least one of her parent's to wake up. When the actual day arrived, she cried for an hour straight when neither parent was awake. It was also the same month that Ceara decided she didn't want to see them anymore, because she finally decided that they were dead. It killed Lexi when her sister told her that, but she decided not to force her sister into anything. By the end of the month, Lexi found herself wondering if her sister was right, that her parents weren't coming back.

* * *

The eleventh month had the girls starting school again, 1st and 4th grades. While doing an activity in class about their families, Ceara was asked to describe her parents. The people she described weren't Clint and Natasha, but Phil and Maria instead. Lexi was asked a similar question, and responded by saying that her parents were in a coma, and that she doubted that they'd ever wake up.

* * *

September 2nd was Natasha's 26th birthday. Lexi convinced Maria to call her out of school, and she spent the day with her parents, silently celebrating her mom's birthday. As she leaned in to kiss Natasha's cheek and whisper happy birthday before leaving, she heard a noise. When she pulled back, Lexi realized that the noise was coming from her mother.

"Мама?"  
A quiet groan answered her.

"Мама, can you hear me?"  
Natasha groaned again, but this time it was accompanied by her eyelids fluttering. Lexi shrieked, and ran into the hallway to find her mother's doctor. When they reentered the room, Natasha's eyes were open, and Clint was in the process of opening his.

When Lexi went home and told everyone that, they were extremely excited. Even Ceara decided that she'd visit the next day, despite having given up.

When they returned the next day, they were told that Natasha and Clint would be sleeping a lot for the next few days, but that it was completely normal.

It wasn't until 2 weeks later that they were fully out of a coma. While Maria was driving everyone to the facility, Lexi finally realized that her parents were awake. As soon as she realized that, the anger hit. She realized that she was beyond angry at both of them. She knew it wasn't rational, but she couldn't help it.

Once they got to Clint and Natasha's room, Ceara ran to Clint's bed, jumped up, and threw herself into his arms.

"Папа! I missed you."  
"I missed you too, sweetie."  
"I missed you, Мама."  
"I missed you too, Ceara."

Lexi didn't speak, she just made her way to Natasha's side, and allowed her mother to wrap her arms around her while she whispered into Lexi's ear.

"Мне очень жаль. Мне так жаль." _'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'_

Lexi nodded and felt her anger dissipating. She knew her parents were safe, and hopefully they'd be out of the field for a while. Of course, knowing them, it wasn't likely to happen.

* * *

Now that Natasha and Clint were no longer in a coma, Lexi felt her life go back to normal. They went home, and Natasha and Clint took time off to just be with their kids.

And then Fury called them into his office and told them that they were being split up. Clint was headed to New Mexico for surveillance while Natasha was being sent to Russia to go undercover and deal with a very annoying "business man."

With one look at Clint, Natasha knew he was thinking the same thing she was.

_Lexi's going to be pissed._

* * *

**There you go! I know I'm horrible, keeping them in a coma for a whole year, but really, it would have been predictable if they'd woken up a week later. I'm not a doctor, so I know there are probably issues with the whole they were in a coma for a year, and now they're perfectly fine, but this is my world, so whatever.**

**If any of you are thinking that Clint and Natasha are a little young, it's cause they are. I read somewhere that Hawkeye brought the Black Widow in when she was 17. Since in my story, Lexi was already born, that would make Natasha 15 when her daughter was born, not altogether impossible considering the line of work she was in, and the facility she was trained in. And making Clint closer to her age just seemed normal, so I did.**

**Last thing: I'm finally to the point I've been working toward since like, chapter 3 or something. So expect updates that are fairly close together, and, hopefully, a lot better than some of the stuff I've been posting.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**See? I told you to expect fairly regular updates.**

**Point of clarification. In case any of you were confused, while Ceara is a semi-big part of the story, this story mainly focuses on Lexi and her interaction with her mother. So while Ceara will become more and more important to the story, it will always remain focused on Natasha and Lexi. Sorry if that disappoints you.**

* * *

_Previously:_ _Clint was headed to New Mexico for surveillance while Natasha was being sent to Russia to go undercover and deal with a very annoying "business man."_

_With one look at Clint, Natasha knew he was thinking the same thing she was._

_Lexi's going to be pissed._

* * *

After they were dismissed from Fury's office, Natasha and Clint went back to their quarters. They began packing, both trying to figure out how to tell their daughters. There was a plan in place, both for their daughters and Phil and Maria's.

Clint finished packing and came to stand behind Natasha, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Tasha?"  
"Lexi's going to be pissed, Clint."  
"I know. But we have to tell her."  
"I know."

Clint kissed her cheek as Natasha zipped her bag, and together they made their way out of the room to find their daughters.

Maria and Phil were in a conference room with the girls, and once Natasha and Clint arrived, Phil and Maria left with Stasia and Ali.

"Мама, what's going on?" Ceara asked.  
"We got new missions."  
Lexi stiffened in her seat, clearly not happy that her parents were leaving so soon after being in a coma. But she knew that there was no stopping them, no matter how much she wanted to.

"Where?"  
Natasha sighed as she took a seat at the table. "Well, we're both leaving New York for a while. Everyone is, actually."  
"Where are they going, Мама?"  
"New Mexico. Папа is going too, and so are Phil and Maria, and even Fury."  
"But you're not?" Lexi whispered.

"I'll get to that, Lexi. So, since no one's going to be here, you're going with Папа to New Mexico. You'll live there with him until the mission is over, or until I get back from mine, whichever is first."  
"What about Stasia and Ali?"  
"They're going to live with Maria's mother in Oregon."  
"Oh."  
"It's ok, Ceara, you can call them, and we're going to set up Skype accounts for all of you, so you can talk."  
"What about school?"  
"Well, since you'll be the only kids, they're not going to have a teacher, so Maria said she could teach you girls, but it's not going to be set times, because she'll be busy."

There was a pause, before Lexi remembered that her mother hadn't said anything about her mission.

"Мама, what about you?"  
"I have to go undercover, and I don't know how long it will take."  
Lexi had a bad feeling pooling in her stomach. Even though she didn't want to, she knew she had to ask, "Where?"  
Natasha sighed, this was the part she was dreading. "Russia."

It was a whisper, but her mother's voice was screaming in Lexi's ears. Without a word, Lexi stood up, shoving her chair back, she stormed from the room without a look at her parents.

"Lexi."  
Lexi didn't answer, just kept walking. She left the room and walked down the hallway. Natasha stood up and followed her daughter.

"Alexis Viktoriya Romanoff! Get back here right now!"  
Lexi spun around. "No! You don't get to do that!"  
"You think I like this?"  
"You're a liar!"  
"Lexi."  
"No! You _lied _to me! You promised you'd never go back, at least not without backup! You _promised_. You promised, and you lied!"

Lexi was crying now, tears streaming down her face. Natasha tried to step forward to hug her, but Lexi took a step back, shaking her head.

"No." Then she turned and took off running, ignoring the hurt look on her mother's face, as well as the few agents that had witnessed her outburst.

Natasha shook her head, doing her best to ignore the looks from the other agents. She turned back to the conference room, knowing Lexi would find someone to talk to if she wanted.

* * *

Lexi continued running through the halls. As she rounded the corner, she ran right into Maria.

"Whoa. Lexi, are you ok?"  
Lexi didn't answer. She tried to move around Maria, but the woman grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides.

Lexi started thrashing around. "Let me go!" She screamed over and over again.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."  
"My mom's a dirty liar, that's what's wrong."  
"Lexi."  
"No! You don't know. But she is."  
"Where are you going?"  
"Away from her." With that, Lexi squirmed her way out of Maria's grasp, and took off running again.

* * *

Lexi burst into the training center and ran through the girl's locker room, ignoring any looks she received. She left the locker room, turned left, and crawled into the vent opening.

She followed the vents, going up into the hellicarrier's internal system. Finally she arrived to another opening, and pushed. The vent opened slightly, but it was enough for Lexi to crawl through. She stepped onto the metal beam in front of her, making sure the opening was closed behind her.

Then she turned around, and began walking quickly, but carefully, along the beam. It was wide enough that she could put both her feet next to each other and still have extra room. Besides, she was used to running along the balance beam when she was training.

So Lexi made her way across various beams, turning multiple times, until she came to her nest. It used to belong to Clint, but when he'd come to visit once, and found her there, he'd relinquished control of it to her.

Lexi sat down and looked beneath her, where agents were sparring and hitting punching bags.

She was high enough above the training center that if anyone knew to look for her, they'd have a hard time seeing her, let along hearing her.

So as she sat, Lexi allowed herself to cry. She was terrified. After they'd left Russia the first time, Natasha had told her that they'd never go back. When Lexi had been taken, Natasha had amended her statement to never go back without backup. And backup in their family was Clint. Not even Phil counted, because if something went wrong, there was very little he could do. So Lexi cried. She cried until she had no tears left.

It was the first time in her memory that her mother had broken a promise to her. She knew it was bound to happen eventually, but she would have much rather it be over something small.

Lexi eventually lost track of time. She had no idea how long she'd been up in her nest, but she didn't really care either.

After what must have been hours, Lexi heard a beam behind her creak lightly, but it was enough to tell her who was coming.

Natasha sat quietly next to Lexi, both of their legs dangling off the platform. She didn't sit close enough to touch her daughter, but if either of them moved, their shoulders brushed.

After what felt like hours, Natasha finally spoke. "I'm so sorry, Lexi."  
Lexi snorted. "I have a hard time believing that."  
"Do you really think I want to go back?"  
"You don't seem to be fighting it."  
"Because I know it won't do any good."  
"Whatever."  
"Lexi. It terrifies me to even think about. Not because I'm worried about what could happen, but because I can't stop remembering what _did _happen. I came way too close to losing you. The last time I was there, you'd been taken from me. I had to pull you out of the facility that destroyed me. The time before that so much shit happened. They tried to make me kill you. When that didn't work, they sent someone to do it, and it almost worked. I can't stop thinking about all the bad things that happen to me there. And it terrifies me because when I wake up in Russia, and you're not there, there's a moment when I think I'm back in my teenage years, and they found you and killed you."  
Lexi didn't know how to respond, so she didn't. She was used to her parents cussing around her, and this time Lexi didn't think there was any other way to describe all the events that had happened during her first two years.

Just as Natasha thought her daughter would continue freezing her out, Lexi sighed and answered. "I'm sorry."  
"I know. And it's ok. You're right. I lied, and for that, I'm so incredibly sorry. I know you're scared, and so am I."  
Lexi nodded and leaned so that her head was resting on Natasha's shoulder. Natasha wrapped her arm around Lexi's shoulders and pulled her closer to her body.

"I love you, Lexi."  
"I love you too, Мама."  
Natasha kissed her daughter's temple before standing up and offering her hand to pull the 10 year-old up.

"Come on. We're going home so you girls can pack."  
Lexi nodded and followed her mother back across the beams, through the vents, and back to where Clint and Ceara were waiting for them.

Without a word, the family left the hellicarrier via a plan that would take them to the helipad at SHIELD HQ. They made their way back to the house, where Clint helped the girls pack anything and everything they'd need while Natasha made dinner.

After they ate, the girls took showers before climbing onto the couch to watch a movie with their parents.

After putting both girls to bed a couple hours later, Natasha set about packing what she'd need of her things. When she was done, she climbed into bed with Clint, and fell asleep quickly, her head resting on her husband's shoulder.

* * *

"Are you leaving soon?"  
"End of the week. I asked Fury if I could go with you guys until then, but he said he needed a couple people to remain at HQ, at least until he got back, and I was scary enough to keep people from doing what they weren't supposed to."  
Lexi nodded. "How is it?"  
"Boring."  
Natasha chuckled. "I bet."  
"There's some massive guy. He tried getting this hammer thing out of the ground. Agents started shooting at him, but the bullets didn't do anything. It was actually kind of funny."  
"What did Clint do?"  
"He just laughed with me. I was up in his nest, talking about random things, when it started. Phil didn't call him in, so we just sat there laughing."  
Natasha smiled at her daughter. "And Ceara?"  
"She spends all her time with me, unless Phil or Maria are free. She likes learning, so she just asks a lot of questions."  
Natasha nodded. "I figured as much."  
There was a noise in the background, and Natasha sighed. "I have to go, Lexi. Some idiot junior agent started a fire."  
"Ok. I miss you, Мама."  
"I miss you too, Bug."  
"Love you."  
"I love you too."  
Natasha blew a kiss to her oldest daughter, before signing off. Lexi sighed, and closed the laptop Phil had let her use to Skype with her mother.

Lexi turned back to the homework Maria had given her, courtesy of her 4th grade teacher back in New York. Mr. Davis had given Maria lessons for her to teach Lexi, and Ceara's teacher had done the same.

When she finished her worksheet, Lexi left her room and went looking for her father. She found him in his nest above the research center.

"Hi."  
"Hey, Lex. How's Мама?"  
"Good. A junior agent set a fire somewhere."  
"Idiot." Clint mumbled.  
"That's what she said when she found out."  
Clint smiled and pulled Lexi into his side. "Think we should teach Ceara how to climb up here?"  
"Probably."  
"Want to go find her?"  
Lexi shrugged. "Sure."

She left the nest and went searching for her sister. Ceara was in Maria's office, coloring a picture.

"Hey, Ky."  
"Hi, Lex."  
"You want to come up to Папа's nest?"  
Ceara's eyes lit up. "Really?"  
"Yeah. Come on."  
Lexi held out her hand, and Ceara took it, following her sister through the massive building.  
"Lexi?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Tomorrow can we work on gymnastics?"  
"Sure. I'm not as good at teaching as Мама is though."  
"That's ok."  
Lexi smiled at her sister. They reached the ladder leading to the rafters.

"Ok. We're gonna start by climbing this. You go first, just in case you slip, ok?"  
Ceara looked slightly nervous. "Ok."  
"It'll be fine. Just put one foot above the other. And use your hands."  
Ceara nodded, and took off. She wasn't scared of heights per say, just aware of them. But she felt safe with Lexi climbing underneath her, so she kept climbing.

"I'm out of room, Lexi."  
"Ok. Do you see the metal beam in front of you?"  
"Yeah."  
"Ok. Put your right hand on that. Ok?"  
"Got it."  
"Good. Now, put you left hand on it, but closer to your body."  
"I don't like this as much."  
Lexi chuckled softly. "I didn't like it the first time either. Now, put your right knee on the beam next to your left hand."  
"That made my other foot leave the ladder."  
"I know. It's ok. Move your left hand slightly, so that you can put your left knee on the beam."  
"Kay."  
"Good. Now grab the metal railing with your right hand, and pull yourself to your feet."  
Ceara complied, and a smile crossed her face. "I did it!"  
Lexi climbed up behind her sister, and returned her smile. "Yeah you did. We're almost there."  
Lexi guided Ceara across the beams, until they got to their father.

"Good job, Ky."  
Clint smiled at his daughters as they dropped to the walkway next to him. He wrapped his arms around them and hugged them tightly. As they began talking and joking, Lexi smiled. When Ceara laughed at something Clint said, Lexi closed her eyes and imagined her mother's laugh.

If she tried hard enough, she could imagine that her whole family was together.

* * *

**There you go! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I absolutely love writing drama between Lexi and Natasha, in case you hadn't noticed it before.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I got distracted and wrote some other stories, but now I'm back.**

* * *

Something was poking Lexi, and it was pissing her off.

She was sleeping peacefully when something had started poking her cheek. That had been 5 minutes ago, and it still hadn't stopped.

"Stop."  
"Can't."  
Lexi sighed. _I should have figured it would be Ceara._

"Come on, Lex. Папа says that if you're not up in 2 more minutes he's dumping cold water on your head."  
Lexi sighed and managed to pry her eyes open.

"Happy Birthday, Lexi."  
"It would have been happier if I was allowed to sleep." She snapped.

Ceara looked hurt, and immediately Lexi felt bad. She pulled her sister in for a hug.

"Sorry, Ky."  
""S Ok."  
"You said Папа's coming in?"  
"Yeah."  
"Then we should probably get out."  
Ceara nodded and climbed out of Lexi's bed. The two girls walked into the kitchen in their apartment and found their dad sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey, Lex. Happy birthday."  
"Hi. Thanks."  
"I know we usually don't work on your birthday, but today's different. I have meetings I need to go to, so you're going to be on your own today. We'll leave base on Saturday though and spend the day together. And I'll make sure I'm here for dinner tonight. That way we'll be able to do something together."  
"Ok."  
"I'm sorry, Lex."  
"I know. It's not your fault."  
Clint smiled sadly at his oldest daughter and pulled her into a hug.

"I've got to go. I love you both. Be good. Don't burn anything down."  
Lexi smiled in response. When he'd left, she got out two bowls and poured cereal for herself and Ceara. They'd been in New Mexico for four months now, and in Lexi's mind that was four months too long. At Christmas, Stasia and Ali had come for a few weeks while they were on break from school, but Natasha hadn't been allowed to visit. Now it was Lexi's birthday and while she'd been hoping that Stasia and Ali were going to be able to come since they were on Spring Break, it seemed that not even that would be happening.

When they finished eating Lexi told Ceara that she just wanted to be alone. Ceara nodded and went off to find Maria or Phil while Lexi made her way to one of the various nests scattered throughout the base.

As she did her schoolwork, Lexi did her best not to dwell on the fact that this was the first birthday her mother was missing. They'd been separated on Christmases before, because when Natasha had first become an agent she hadn't been able to turn down a mission, but she'd mad it clear that missing Lexi's birthday, or Ceara's for that matter, wasn't acceptable.

_Until now._ Lexi thought sourly.

She wasn't angry with her mother, at least not any more. She just didn't like to be away form her for this long. While Natasha had been in a coma for a year, Lexi had been able to see her everyday. Now Lexi was only able to see her once every other week.

Around lunch, she heard someone come up behind her and when she turned around, she found Maria walking toward her.

"Hey, birthday girl."  
"Hi." Lexi whispered.  
"What's this? You're not allowed to be sad on your birthday!"  
"Sorry."  
"Seriously, kid. What's wrong?"  
"It just doesn't feel like my birthday, that's all."  
"Is it because Stasia and Ali aren't here?"  
"Partly. Папа's working, they're in Oregon, and Мама's in Russia."  
"I'm sorry, Lex."  
"I don't know why I'm letting it bother me. I knew this might happen, I just thought…"  
"That they'd find a way around it?"  
"I guess. It's stupid."  
"No it's not, Lex."

They sat in silence for a while, before Lexi decided to speak again.

"This is the first birthday she's missed. Even while we were in Russia she'd find a way to be there for my birthday."  
"Do you remember what you'd do?"  
"Nothing there. We just spent the day together. But when we came here it was the same thing. Clint didn't even become a part of the celebrations until I turned 5. But we'd just stay together. We went to the Russian restaurant we'd found. We watched movies all day. It was my day to be with her, and it was her day to relax."  
"I'm sorry."  
"It's ok."  
"Just out of curiosity, when did he become 'Clint' again? I thought he was your dad."  
"He is. He'll always be my dad, but ever since Ky was born, it's just always felt funny calling him that. Мама noticed, so when it's just us he's Clint."  
"She wasn't mad?"  
"No. She only got mad because I said he wasn't my dad. But I still think of him as my dad. I just…"  
"Just what?"  
"There are days where I don't feel like I'm American. Do you know what I mean?"  
"No."  
Lexi smiled. "There are days where I feel like I don't belong."  
"But you're an American citizen."  
Lexi sighed. "Never mind. Мама's the only one who understood, and it's too difficult to explain."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah, sorry."  
Maria put an arm around Lexi and hugged her.

"Come on. Let's go."  
"Where?"  
"Somewhere where there's no danger of falling to our deaths."  
Lexi laughed as she followed Maria from the nest.

When they were back on the ground, Maria led Lexi through the base to the mess hall.

"I'm not hungry, Maria."  
"That's nice. I am."  
Lexi smiled as she followed Maria through the doors. Immediately Lexi noticed that he lights were off. And the lights in the mess hall were never off. Before she registered anything else, the lights were flicked on.

"Surprise!"  
Lexi looked around and smiled. Clint and Ceara were the closest to her, both smiling. She noticed Maria standing next to Phil, and Fury next to them. She heard someone behind her, but before she could turn around, she felt arms wrap around her waist and a voice in her ear.

"Happy Birthday, Lexi."  
Lexi turned around quickly. "Stasia!"  
The girls hugged, and then Lexi noticed Ali and hugged her too.

"I thought you guys couldn't come?"  
"So did we. Until Ali said that all she wanted for her birthday was the joint party she'd been promised every year with you."  
Lexi smiled at the now 7-year-old standing next to her.

"Thank you, Ali."  
"I didn't want to have my party without my birthday buddy."  
"I'm glad you feel that way."  
As Lexi hugged the rest of the people in the room, she couldn't help looking around hoping to find her mom hiding in the shadows. But as the hours went by, she was forced to admit that her mom wasn't going to make it.

Clint had spent his day driving to the nearest decent Russian restaurant 4 hours away. When Lexi found out she gave him a massive hug. The food was wonderful, but every bite seemed to weigh Lexi down more. She loved her dad and the rest of her family, but she was having a hard time getting past the fact that her mother wasn't there.

"Alright, let's do presents."  
Lexi nodded and made her way to the table with the presents and sat down.

After she opened the last present, Lexi was slightly confused. Fury had given her a catsuit much like her mother's, complete with widow's bites and the belt to hold various trick weapons. Phil and Maria had given her a gift card to her favorite bookstore, and Maria promised to take her out shopping this weekend. Stasia and Ali had given her a gift card to her favorite clothing store, and Ceara had given her a bracelet she'd made, along with a scrapbook of the two of them that Maria had helped her with. But there was nothing from her parents. Not even something Clint said was from her mother as well.

She turned to look at Clint, and he smiled at her.

"My present wouldn't fit in a box, so I have to bring it in unwrapped. So you need to close your eyes."  
Lexi nodded and complied. She'd assumed that her parents were giving her a gun for her birthday, since they'd missed her 10th birthday, which was when she'd originally been told she could have her own.

"Ok. Open your eyes, Lex."  
Lexi snapped her eyes open, still slightly confused. The room looked the same and it didn't look like anything had been added.

And then Lexi looked at the door.

Immediately, Lexi jumped out of the chair she was in and ran to the door.

"Мама!" She cried.

Natasha held out her arms and lifted Lexi off the floor. Lexi buried her face in Natasha's neck as tears slipped from her eyes.

"Почему ты плачешь, моя девочка?" _'Why are you crying, my baby girl?'  
_"Я не думал, что увижу тебя. Я думала, ты не придешь." _'I didn't think I'd see you. I thought you wouldn't come.'  
_"Но это твой день рождения. И я всегда здесь свой день рождения." _'But it's your birthday. And I'm always here for your birthday.'_

Lexi nodded and hugged her mother even tighter.

"I love you, Мама."  
"I love you too, Lexi."

* * *

**So this was kind of a filler chapter, but in my mind, this was very important. If everything goes according to plan, some very important things are going to be happening very soon.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Alright. Now we're starting to get into some of the action. Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

Natasha was only able to stay for a few days, so the day after Lexi's birthday, Natasha took her shopping and the two spent the day together, catching up and talking about the most trivial of matters, both pretending that Natasha wasn't going back to Russia in a few days. The next day Natasha took Ceara out and did the same thing, both doing their best to pretend that this whole arrangement was normal.

March ended and April came and went. When May arrived, Lexi and Ceara had convinced Clint, Phil, and Maria that if the mission wasn't done by the end of the school year, they were going to spend the summer with Stasia and Ali. Just as they were getting ready to leave for Oregon, all hell broke loose.

Lexi and Ceara were in the offices with Phil when he got a call over his earpiece.

"Phil?" Lexi asked uneasily.  
Phil pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Lexi. "Put this in your ear. You're officially in charge of your sister."  
"What? Phil, what's going on?"  
"I'll explain later. Fury's coming to look at some stuff though, so Maria and I are going to be busy."  
"Do we stay here?"  
"Until I tell you otherwise."

Lexi nodded and watched as Phil ran from the room.

"Lex?"  
"Yeah, Ky?"  
"What's going on?"  
"I don't know. Are you coloring a picture?"  
"Yeah. It's us with Мама and Папа."  
"Sweet. Make sure you save it, and you can give it to them when we get back to New York."  
"Kay. Can we go to the nest?"  
"No. Phil told us to stay here."  
"Fine. Do you want to color?"  
Lexi smiled at her sister. "Sure."

They sat together for a while, trading colors and talking about nothing in particular.

_Lex. Get out now! _Phil's voice sounded in her ear._  
_"What?"  
_Get out.  
_"Where?"  
_Out._

Lexi sighed at Phil's unhelpful answer.

"Come on, Ky. Phil told us to get out."  
"Kay."  
Ceara stood and followed her sister from the room. They were halfway down the hall when Ceara stopped.

"Ky?"  
"I forgot Мама's picture!"  
"It's fine. You'll be able to draw another one."  
"No! That one was perfect, Lexi!"  
"Ok. Let me get you out, and I promise I will come back for your picture, ok?"  
"Kay."  
Lexi grabbed Ceara's hand and pulled her down the hallway. They ran for a bit before they came upon a group of agents evacuating. They saw Phil at the front of the group, looking for someone.

"Phil!" Lexi called.  
"Oh thank God. Come on, girls. We have to get out of here."  
"Ok. Take Ky, I have to go get something."  
"Not an option, Lex."  
"I promised her, Phil."

Without waiting for his response, Lexi turned and ran back through the halls. She quickly arrived at the room she'd been with Ceara in and grabbed the picture. As she was leaving, she remembered the box she'd brought with her, and ran back to their apartment to grab it.

_Phil's going to be pissed when he finds out._

Lexi burst through the door and ran to her room. She grabbed the music box her mother had given her when they had first arrived in America, and stuffed it into her backpack. Then she went to Ceara's room and grabbed her stuffed hawk and stuffed spider, knowing that trying to get the 6-year-old to go to sleep without them was futile. She was just leaving the apartment when she ran by Clint's room. She entered and grabbed the pictures he had on his nightstand, one of him and Natasha and one of the four of them, and shoved them in her bag along with her sister's animals. She was just leaving when another box caught her eye. She opened it and found all her mother's pictures from her and Lexi's time in Russia. Lexi grabbed the two books, along with the one with pictures of Ceara, and barely managed to fit them in her now very heavy backpack.

Just as she was leaving, she felt the ground shake. Once she knew it was safe, she took off running for where she'd left her sister with Phil.

_Alexis where the hell are you?! _ She heard her parents' handler yell in her ear.  
"Coming!" She responded.

She ran into one of the tunnels, and saw her father with one of the scientists, and a man she'd never seen before. Just as she was about to call out to him, she heard Fury's voice in her ear.

_Hill! Barton's been compromised._

As soon as the sentence started, Clint began shooting at Hill and Lexi was rooted in her place. As soon as the car with her father in it vanished, Hill saw Lexi staring at where he'd been.

"Lexi!"  
Lexi looked up at Maria, fear in her eyes. Maria ran to her and hugged her tightly.

"You need to go to Phil."  
"Maria, what happened to him?"  
"I don't know. But I need to go."  
"Where's Phil?"  
"Down that hall and to your left."  
Lexi nodded and took off running as the facility shook again, briefly hearing Maria tell Phil she was coming.

She rounded the corner and found him standing there, Ceara clutching to his neck.

"I've got her, Maria."  
Phil glared at her, and Lexi suddenly felt ashamed. She knew it was stupid to go back in, but she'd promised her little sister. She walked over to Phil and handed Ceara her picture, missing the softening to Phil's features as he realized what she'd done. She hurried into the truck and slid over so Phil could sit next to her with Ceara on his lap.

Once again, she heard Fury's voice in her ear as Phil spoke to him, letting him know that both kids were safe. Then she heard Fury announce that they were at war. When neither man spoke again, Lexi removed the earpiece and handed it back to Phil, trying to ignore the look on his face when he realized that she'd heard vaguely about what happened to Clint.

"Lex, I-"  
Lexi just shook her head and looked pointedly at her sister's back. Phil nodded and shifted Ceara so the sisters could see each other. Then he wrapped his arm around Lexi, and noticed the backpack she was still wearing.

"What's that, Lex?"  
"Stuff."  
"Lexi, did you go back to your apartment."  
"I had to."  
"Really? And what was so important that you had to risk serious _injury_," meaning death, "to get?"  
Lexi sighed and pulled the backpack off and set it at her feet. She unzipped it and reached in, grabbing Ceara's stuffed animals and handing them to her sister.

"Here, Ky."  
"Thanks, Lex."  
"That was it?" Phil asked.  
"No." Lexi pulled out the pictures and the albums. When Phil went to open one of the ones from Russia, Lexi stopped him.

"No. No one gets to see those except me and Мама."  
Phil looked at her and nodded slowly. When Lexi was sure he wouldn't try to open them again, she reached back into the bag and pulled out the music box, glad that it hadn't been crushed as she was throwing other things in.

"Мама gave this to me right after we came to America." Lexi whispered.

She opened the box and wound it carefully. The music that began to play was beautiful, and Phil instantly recognized it as the song he'd once caught Natasha singing to Lexi. He knew by Ceara's confused look that it wasn't her bedtime song, which meant it was a song that only Natasha and Lexi shared.

As the song continued, Ceara fell asleep and Phil pulled Lexi closer to his body so she could have some semblance of a pillow.  
Lexi allowed the song to float over her as she fell asleep while the truck drove through the desert. Drove to what, Lexi couldn't say.

* * *

**There you go! I know it seems kind of weird, at least it does to me, but starting with the next chapter, things are going to get very fun. At least, they'll be fun for me.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Alright, now we're getting into some fun stuff!**

* * *

Natasha Romanoff sat in the chair and listened as Luchkov told her everything she needed to know about his organization. She could tell he thought she was stupid, but she didn't really care.

She was fed up with Russia. It had been the best news she'd gotten in years when she'd discovered that there was a week where she could slip away, and it was made even better when it was the same week as Lexi's birthday. But coming back had been even harder after she'd gotten to see her girls. She missed them more than she cared to admit, but she knew she needed to focus on her mission.

Luchkov picked up a wrench, no doubt to remove her teeth, as he continued telling her what she wanted to know.

Suddenly, a phone rang. One of the thugs answered her phone, and told Luchkov it was for her.

_No shit, Sherlock. It's my damn phone!_

Luchkov took it and tried to threaten whoever was on the other line, a plan that didn't work as he brought the phone to Natasha.

_We need you to come in.  
_Phil. "Are you kidding? I'm working!"  
_This takes precedence.  
_"I'm in the middle of an interrogation, and this moron's giving me everything."  
"I not give everything." Luchkov interrupted.

Natasha just gave him a look telling him that he was an idiot.

"Look you can't pull me out of this right now."  
_Tasha. Barton's been compromised._

Natasha stopped breathing. Clint. Her best friend. Her partner. Her girls' father. Her everything.

Natasha kept her mask in place. "Let me put you on hold."

She looked at Luchkov in a manner telling him to take the phone. When he stepped closer to her, she attacked.

As she went about beating the crap out of all the thugs surrounding her, Natasha couldn't get Clint's face out of her mind.

When she was done, and Luchkov was hanging upside down by a chain, she grabbed her shoes and her phone, and returned to her discussion with Phil.

"Where's Barton now?"  
_We don't know._  
"But he's alive?"  
_We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy.  
_"Coulson. You know Stark trusts me about as far as he can throw me."  
_Oh, I've got Stark. You get the big guy._

That certainly wasn't what Natasha wanted to hear. She wanted nothing more than to return to the hellicarrier and hold her daughters.

Before she could ask what she so desperately wanted to know, Phil answered.  
_They're fine, Tasha. They're with Maria and I, and they're fine._

Natasha sighed and hung up after Phil told her just where the 'big guy' was hanging out these days.

* * *

Calcutta was not a place Natasha ever really wanted to visit. It was hot and dusty, and Natasha didn't like it.

As she waited for the little girl to return with the doctor, she did her best not to think of all the horrible things that could have happened. She knew Clint was alive but that was the extent of what she knew. She had a feeling that Lexi knew something, and that Phil knew she did. His voice wasn't nearly convincing enough to persuade her of anything different.

She was jerked back to the present when she heard footsteps running toward the house. She briefly saw the little girl jump through a window, before she heard the doctor mutter to himself.

She stood up and made her way into the other room. He was shocked to see her, but something in his eyes told her he'd been expecting something like this for a while now.

Natasha had to work to stifle the chuckle that threatened to break free when Banner asked if he was supposed to swallow the cube.

She managed to get through her speech without her voice breaking, but she got the feeling that Banner knew she wasn't telling him something.

She was honestly glad when he came with her willingly, at least until they stepped onto the plane. She could tell immediately that he didn't like flying, and she couldn't blame him. She didn't like flying either, unless she or Clint was the pilot. She did her best to keep her face blank as pain shot through her at the thought of her husband.

* * *

When they arrived back to the hellicarrier, she kept an eye on Banner while simultaneously looking for one or both of her kids. She caught sight of a small person sitting on the highest point and suppressed a smile when they waved to her.

Phil returned not much later along with his boyhood hero, Captain America.

Natasha told Phil to get to the bridge, and with one look he told her not to go looking for her kids until the new arrivals were situated. Natasha sighed and nodded subtly.

She made her way to Rogers and decided she had a few moments to spare in which she could embarrass her handler. So she mentioned the trading cards, managing not to smile at Rogers' reaction.

As Rogers introduced himself to Banner, Natasha heard Fury's voice in her ear, telling her to bring their guests inside. Her previous assumption about Banner not liking to fly were confirmed when he muttered something about how much worse him being in an aircraft rather than a submarine was.

She led them to the bridge, doing her best not to laugh when she heard a very distinct sound in one of the vents.

She remained quiet as Fury told them the basic plan, without revealing everything, of course. When the director was done, Natasha led Banner to his lab telling him they'd gotten all the toys, even though she had no idea what most of them did.

When he was situated, Natasha was finally free to find her daughters, so she took off down the halls until she got to her and Clint's quarters, slightly bigger than most because there was room for both agents and their kids, one of whom was on the fast track to becoming an agent herself.

She opened the door and was swallowed in a massive hug.

"Мама!"  
"Hi, Ceara." Natasha laughed.  
"Мама, where's Папа?"  
Natasha fought off the pain as she looked into her daughter's eyes. "I don't know, sweetie. But everyone is looking for him, so we'll find him, ok?"  
"Kay."

Natasha scooped the 6-year-old up off the floor and kissed her cheek.

"Where's Lexi, Ceara?"  
"I dunno. When we got here she went in one of the vents and has been roaming around ever since."  
"Ok. Well, I guess it's the two of us until she shows up."  
Ceara smiled and hugged her mother tightly as they made their way to the TV in the other room and began watching movies.

* * *

Lexi crawled through the vents, trying to remember where the scientist's lab was. She'd seen her mother bring him on board, and she wanted to meet him.

She knew she was supposed to stay with Maria, but she also knew that Maria was busy and that Ceara was currently without a chaperone.

As much as she wanted to, she didn't ever go in the vents above briefing rooms or the bridge. They were off limits until she was a real agent, which she desperately wanted to be.

So she continued crawling and climbing until she got to the vent opening above the lab.

She quietly removed the vent cover, and dropped silently to the ground. The scientist had his back to her, so she stood where she was until he turned around.

"Geez, kid!" he exclaimed when he _finally_ turned around.  
"Hi."  
"Hi. How long have you been there?"  
"3 minutes and 48 seconds."  
"Where did you come from?"  
"Vents."  
He nodded. "Do you have a name?"  
"I do."  
"Are you going to tell me?"  
"You didn't ask what it was."  
He cracked a smile at that. "No, I didn't. What's your name?"  
"Lexi."  
"How old are you?"  
"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"  
"I suppose I should. My name's Bruce."  
"I'm 11."  
"I'm not."

Lexi smiled at his response.

"Who are your parents? I'm assuming they're SHIELD agents?"  
Lexi nodded.  
"Who are they?"

Lexi really didn't want to answer, and Bruce could tell.

"You don't have to say. As long as they're not looking for you."  
"Мама knows I'm around somewhere. And if I get hurt, it's my own fault."  
Bruce smiled. "Well then."  
They fell into silence as Bruce continued working.

"What are you doing?"  
"Trying to find a cube."  
"The tesseract?"  
"Yeah. How do you know about that?"  
"My dad was stationed in New Mexico with it and I was there."  
Bruce nodded. "You want to watch?"  
Lexi shrugged. "Sure."  
"Come over here, then. You can sit on the table."  
Lexi made her way to the table and climbed up and watched Bruce continue working.

"Are you a hero?" She suddenly asked.  
"No."  
"That's not true."  
"How do you figure?"  
"If you're not a hero, then you're a villain. And SHIELD wouldn't let a villain this close to them."  
"I'm not a hero, Lexi."  
"Maybe not a super hero, but you're still a hero. My Мама says the same thing all the time. She's done bad things, but she's always nice to our family. So she's my hero. I bet you're somebody's hero."

Bruce couldn't find a response. Lexi's words struck him and made him think.

"Maybe you're right."  
"I know I'm right. I'm only not right on school stuff sometimes."  
Bruce laughed.

Lexi seemed to have run out of questions, so she just watched him work. After a while, the door to the lab opened, and one of the junior agents came in.

"There you are!"  
"It shouldn't have been hard to find me." Lexi stated.  
The agent rolled her eyes. "Your mother's back on board."  
"I know. I saw her."  
"Really? Cause she's looking for you."  
"Where?"  
"She told me to take you to her."  
"Doubt that. I don't know your name, which means we've never met, and I don't go with people I've never met."  
"Whatever. She's looking for you."  
"Kay. I gotta go, Bruce."  
"I heard."  
"Can I come back and visit later?"  
"Maybe. If you tell you mom where you are."  
"That's no fun though."  
Bruce smiled. "Sure. Come back and visit later if you want."  
"Sweet!" Lexi jumped off the table and hugged Bruce tightly around the waist, catching him off guard. When she pulled away, she grabbed one of the stools and placed it under the vent opening and jumped up. She grabbed the walls and pulled herself up and secured the grate before making her way to her family's rooms.

When she arrived, she dropped into the living room and smiled as her mother came out of the bedroom.

"Hi, Мама!"  
"Hey, Lexi. Where were you?"  
"I met Bruce. He's nice."  
Natasha smiled and tried to ignore the slight fear she felt. She knew Lexi was small enough to get away if the Hulk made an appearance, but she still wanted to protect her daughter.

"You hungry?"  
"No."  
That shocked Natasha. Lexi was always hungry. As Natasha looked over her daughter, she noticed that Lexi wasn't meeting her eyes.

"Lexi?"  
"What?"  
"Are you ok?"  
"Yeah."  
"Don't lie to me. I'm the queen of lying, remember?"  
When Lexi didn't smile at their old joke, Natasha was worried.

"Lexi, what aren't you telling me?"  
"Nothing."  
Natasha sighed and left the room. "Ceara?" She called.  
"Yeah?"  
"Can you head to Phil and Maria's rooms? We'll be there soon."  
"Ok."

As soon as Ceara left the room, Lexi knew she was in trouble.

"You've been avoiding me." Natasha accused.  
"No."  
"Yes you have. Normally when I get back from a mission, you're the first one to greet me. I've been back for a few hours, and I'm just seeing you now."  
"I waved earlier."  
"That doesn't count. Why are you avoiding me?"

Instead of responding, Lexi went into her room and grabbed her backpack. She'd taken the music box out as soon as they returned to the carrier, but the pictures remained in the bag.

She brought the bag to her mother and held it out.

"This was all I could save from Clint's room in New Mexico. I'm sorry."  
Lexi turned and reentered her room and shut the door. She knew she'd have to tell her mother about what she heard on the earpiece, but she didn't want to. She wanted to pretend that, like Ceara, she didn't know why their father wasn't with them.

Natasha stared at her daughter's closed door, until she remembered the backpack in her hands. She took it to the couch and opened it. She nearly started crying as she found the pictures she'd sent with Clint, thinking they'd be safer in New Mexico than at their house.

Her heart broke as she looked at the pictures of Clint with both girls.  
_We'll find you, Clint. Then you can come home._

Natasha stood and went to Lexi's door and knocked softly. Before opening it.

"Lexi?"  
"What?" She whispered.  
"What aren't you telling me?"  
"I heard everything."  
"What do you mean?" Natasha asked as she sat on her daughter's bed.  
"Phil gave me an earpiece when he told us to stay where we were. It was so he could tell us when to move. But before I grabbed that stuff, I didn't give it back to him. as I was coming back, I heard Fury's voice saying that Clint was compromised. And then I got one look at his eyes. They were weird, Мама. They were still blue, but it was the wrong color. And I could tell that he wasn't anywhere in there. And then he was shooting at Maria. _Maria_, Мама. And then he was gone. He was just gone." Lexi's voice had become a whisper by the end.

Natasha pulled Lexi into her lap and stroked her hair. "I'm so sorry you had to hear and see that, Lexi. It shouldn't have happened."  
"It's not Phil's fault."  
"I know."  
"I can't be around Ceara. Because I'll say something on accident, and then she'll know. And she really doesn't need to know."  
"I know. But you can't just avoid your sister."  
"I know."  
They became silent and Lexi allowed her mind to think. "Will we find him, Мама?"  
"I really hope so."  
Lexi nodded. "I'm not hungry."  
"Ok. If I go eat with Phil and Maria, will you promise to stay here?"  
"Yes."  
"Ok. I'll be back soon."  
"Love you."  
"Love you too." Natasha kissed Lexi's cheek and slid her off her lap.

* * *

When Natasha and Ceara returned from Phil and Maria's quarters, she put Ceara to bed and went to check on Lexi.

She found her daughter curled into a tight ball, fast asleep. Without thinking, Natasha scooped Lexi into her arms and carried her to her bedroom and set her on the bed. After Natasha changed into her pajamas, she go in bed with her daughter and held her close, knowing that Lexi would wake up with a nightmare or two, and Natasha wanted to be there when her daughter needed her.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this chapter, and that it wasn't too out of character. I'm really excited about where this is going, so I hop you guys like it.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**This is probably going to be my last update for a short while, since I'm going back to school tomorrow. I'll try to get one in before I leave in the morning, or, depending on how mice my teachers are, I might be able to update tomorrow night. But just in case, enjoy!**

* * *

When Lexi woke up the next morning, she was slightly confused. Her head was resting on her mother's shoulder and her mom's arms were wrapped tightly around Lexi's body. Then it hit her. She'd woken up many times last night, from various nightmares about Clint. She didn't know what was happening to him, but her mind was playing out multiple worst-case scenarios.

Natasha heard the change in Lexi's breathing, signaling that the young girl was awake.

"Lexi?"  
"Hi. Sorry about last night."  
"Don't apologize. I figured it would happen."  
Lexi nodded and burrowed closer into Natasha's chest. After a while, Natasha decided that they both needed to get out of bed.

"Come on, Bug."  
"I don't want to."  
"I know. Neither do I, but if we don't want to worry Ceara…"  
Lexi sighed. She knew her sister was old enough to handle it, but Lexi realized that her own childhood hadn't been the easiest. She hadn't really trusted anyone until she met Clint, and even now it was difficult for her to trust people. So she wanted to allow her little sister to keep her innocence as long as possible.

Lexi made her way from Natasha's bedroom and down the hall to Ceara's.

"Ky?"  
"Too early."  
"No it's not. Come on."  
"Don't wanna."  
"I know. Come on."  
"No."  
"Ky, Мама said to get up."  
"5 more minutes."  
"Nope. Up."  
Ceara sighed and pried her eyes open. At that exact moment, Lexi flicked the lights on, essentially burning Ceara's eyes.

"Hey!" She exclaimed.  
"Sorry!"  
"Are you trying to kill me?"  
"How did you guess?" Lexi deadpanned.

Ceara sighed and slowly opened one eye, and then the other. She blinked a few times and looked around.

"Finally." Lexi said, but when Ceara saw the smile on her face, she couldn't help but return it.  
"Come on."

Ceara nodded and got out of bed. She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth while Lexi went back to the kitchen. She grabbed a package of poptarts and ripped them open.

"Hey! What are you doing, Lexi?"  
"Eating?"  
"We're going to the mess hall, remember?"  
"Don't want to."  
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Who are you spying on today?"  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Right." Natasha said, raising an eyebrow.

Lexi simply turned and walked back to her room, shutting the door behind her. Once she finished eating, she grabbed one of her leos and a pair of shorts and tugged them on. She grabbed her tennis shoes and pulled them on before grabbing her grips as well, and left her room.

When Natasha caught sight of Lexi, her eyebrow raised again.

"I'm going to workout." Lexi answered her mother's look.  
"By yourself?"  
"Yeah. I like it."  
"Whatever. Remember, injuries are your fault."

Lexi rolled her eyes and nodded. She pulled open the door and stepped into the hallway.

Her family's apartments weren't far from the training center, so she didn't run in to anybody in the halls. When she entered the training center, only one other person was in it. Immediately, Lexi recognized the man as Captain Rogers, or Captain America. He was using one of the punching bags, beating out what must have been serious anger management issues.

When he heard the door close, he turned around, but didn't see anyone. He was turning back to his bag when Lexi decided to reveal her location.

"Hi."  
The man nearly jumped, but he managed to find where Lexi was hiding. When he saw her, she stepped out from the corner she'd been hiding in.

"Hi." He answered.  
"You're Captain America, aren't you?"  
He stiffened, but tried to brush it off. "Yeah."  
The harshness to his tone shocked Lexi slightly, but she did her best not to show it. "Sorry, I suppose you prefer Captain Rogers. It's just, Phil talks about you all the time."  
"Phil?"  
"Agent Coulson."

The man nodded and turned back to his bag. Although she knew it was stupid, and his consent wasn't needed, Lexi still felt the need to obtain it.

"Do you mind if I work out in here with you? I'll be on the other side of the room."  
Her voice was close to a whisper, and Rogers guessed he'd hurt her feelings. He hadn't meant to, he just wasn't used to being interrupted during his work out.

"Sure." He tried to smile at her, but her back was turned almost immediately after she'd asked the question, which just made Rogers feel even worse.

Lexi made her way silently to the gymnastics equipment. She began stretching and warming up, ensuring that her muscles were loose before attempting any skills. After she was stretched, she pulled her grips on and jumped onto the lower bar before transitioning to the higher bar. When she got settled on the bar, she began doing pull-ups, having gotten better at them since her summer in Alaska.

She could feel Rogers watching her, but did her best to ignore him. When she got to 200 pull-ups, she dismounted and removed her grips. She made her way to the beam and went over her mount nearly a hundred times, ensuring that she didn't wobble once. Then she began going over her routine, doing bits over and over until she was confident. She fell once on a landing when her foot slipped. It hadn't been the most pleasant of feelings, and she heard Rogers' gasp from across the room, along with the unmistakable sound of him coming closer. She stood up immediately and bounced around, seeing if her ankle, which had rolled awkwardly, could handle anymore. When the pain subsided after a few seconds, Lexi jumped back up on the beam and continued working.

After 2 hours, she decided she'd done enough for the day, and was leaving to go back to her room and ice her ankle, just in case.

"You're really good."  
Rogers' voice stopped her, having forgotten that she had an audience.

"Thank you."  
"How old are you?"  
"11."  
"What's your name?"  
"Lexi."  
"Steve."  
"Can I ask you a question?"  
"Sure."  
"What are you angry at?"  
"Excuse me?"  
"My Мама only hits like that when she's really angry. Even when she's sparring with my dad and he annoys her, she doesn't get that mad. So why are you so angry?"  
Steve just stared at her before finally answering. "I don't know really. I mean, I do, but it's just…"  
"Is it in your control? Could you have done anything about it?"  
"No."  
"Then there's no use being angry. There are so many things anyone could be angry about, but if you couldn't have done anything, it's not worth it to waste your energy."  
Lexi gave Steve one last look before leaving the gym and going back to her room. Steve watched her leave and was surprised that she was only 11. She seemed so much wiser and mature than any 11-year-old he'd ever met.

He found himself wondering why an 11-year-old was even on the hellicarrier, before realizing that her parents must be agents. He knew there was someone he'd seen on board that looked like the girl, but he couldn't seem to make it connect in his mind.

Steve shook his head to clear out the clutter, and turned back to the bag, only to find that he didn't have anymore anger to hit out that day.

* * *

**Clint**

He was royally pissed off. Something had happened to him, and he'd been forced out of his own head. That wasn't really true, he was still there, but he couldn't get close enough to see anything. He was no longer in control of himself, and that bugged him.

As he was trying to regain composure and kick whatever had possessed him out, he noticed Loki coming toward him.

"Agent Barton."  
_Jackass_ Clint thought, while he heard himself say, "Master."  
"Let's learn a little more about you, shall we?"  
_No!_

Clint had just enough time to force all the memories of both his daughters into the secret compartment he'd been forced to make in his brain before Loki forced himself in. Clint had already slipped and forgotten to hide on memory of Natasha, so it was no use hiding her from him, but he did his best to hide the more sensitive parts of their relationship.

Loki knew there were things Clint wasn't showing him, and it irked him. He found the compartment, envisioned in Clint's mind as a steel door with chains across it and a massive padlock, and did his best to break in. But while Clint was no longer in the driver's seat per say, he was damned if he was going to let Loki know the extent of his family. So far, the demi god had only seen him and Natasha as partners and nothing more, and Clint was going to try to keep it that way. So as Loki did his best to break in, Clint forced him to stay out. When Loki finally gave up, Clint was grateful. She told Loki everything he'd need to pull off his next mission, and set off with a team.

* * *

**Natasha**

As Natasha boarded the plane, she let out a small sigh. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with Loki, but she didn't have much choice.

The actual mission wasn't too difficult; it was the aftermath, mainly dealing with Stark on the plane ride back to base, that was annoying. When Thor had taken Loki and Stark followed, Natasha had been slightly glad, until the captain had decided to follow. Natasha sighed as he jumped out of the plane, but she didn't really try to stop him.

When they returned to the plane later, some looking a little worse for wear, Natasha sighed again.

When the plane landed, she was the first one off. She made her way quickly through the halls. She knew Ceara was in their quarters, but she didn't know where Lexi was, although she had a good idea.

Her suspicions were confirmed when the door to Banner's lab opened and she found Lexi sitting on the table, talking to him.

"Lexi, let's go."  
"Where?"  
"ожалуйста, только со мной." _'Please just come with me.'_

Lexi looked at her mother for a moment and finally nodded. She jumped off the table and, after hugging Bruce again, scampered over to her mother and grabbed her hand.

"Bye, Bruce!" Lexi called over her shoulder.

They took a few steps before Fury's voice was in her ear.  
_Romanoff, he's coming down the hallway you guys are in. I'd suggest finding a vent._

Natasha nodded, and pulled Lexi to the nearest vent and pushed her in, following close behind before pushing the cover back into place. They moved a little ways down the vent before Natasha stopped her daughter, not wanting to make any unnecessary noise. Just as Lexi stopped moving, They could hear the sound of many footsteps walking down the hallway, mere inches from the vent they were in. once the footsteps had passed, Natasha nodded to Lexi, and they continued on to their apartment.

When they were settled back in, Natasha called both girls into the living room.  
"Ok, listen up. As of now, neither of you goes anywhere without me, Maria or Phil. That means no wandering the vents, no spying on anyone, and no sneaking away."  
"Why are you looking at me?"  
Natasha raised an eyebrow at Lexi, and the girl blushed. "Right."  
"That's the new rule. There may or may not be more to follow. Do you understand?"  
"Yes."  
"Yes."  
"Good. Who's hungry?"  
"I'm not." Lexi muttered.

Natasha nodded, but gave her a look. While she got dinner for herself and Ceara, Lexi went to her room and changed into her pajamas. When they were done with dinner, Ceara went to bed and Lexi made her way to Natasha's bedroom.

"Мама?" Lexi whispered.  
"What, Lexi?"  
"Can I stay with you tonight?"  
"Sure. Come here."

Lexi crossed the room and climbed in next to her mother. She rested her head on Natasha's shoulder and snuggled closer to her mom when Natasha's arms went around her shoulders.

"Мама?"  
"Yeah?"  
"He's on the ship, isn't he? The one who did this to Clint?"  
"Yeah."  
"That's why we're not allowed to go anywhere by ourselves, isn't it?"  
"Yeah."  
"Мама?"  
"What?"  
"When you guys fight him, can I help?"  
"What?"  
"I want to help. I have a fully equipped suit and everything."  
"Lexi, it's too dangerous."  
"I know. But Мама, please? I'll stay up high."  
"Lexi, it probably won't even come to a fight."  
"But if it does. Can I help?"  
Natasha knew her daughter wouldn't drop it. "Fine." She sighed.

She really didn't think it would come to a big fight. It didn't seem to be heading in that direction.  
In a few days, Natasha was going to look back on this and laugh at how wrong she was.

* * *

**There you go! I had a few requests to see something from Clint's POV as he was possessed or whatever you call it, so I tried doing that. I hope it turned out ok and wasn't too hard to understand.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow, 60 reviews! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this story. It makes me feel wonderful when you guys tell me how much you like it. I'm sorry if any of you feel like I'm dragging this out, I just don't want to skip over something only to have it become very important later on. Thank you for all the support!**

* * *

After much begging, Natasha allowed Ceara and Lexi to go to the gym the next morning. They changed into their gym clothes and eagerly awaited Maria's arrival. When she finally showed up, both girls dragged her down the hall to the gym.

Rogers was already working out, and as she walked past him, Lexi smiled as she noticed that he didn't appear quite as angry.

She joined Ceara on the mat and began stretching, giving her sister a few pointers along the way. While Lexi did her pull-ups, Maria had Ceara do skills across the floor area. When Lexi was halfway done, she heard the door open and saw Tony Stark walk into the gym, looking as if he was going to work out. She shot a glance at Maria and the agent shrugged before signaling for her to finish. When Lexi finished at the bars, she dropped to the ground and removed her grips as she headed to the vault table.

"Lex, what are you doing?" Maria asked.  
"I've been working on a new vault. And I want to get some practice in."  
"Have you landed it before?"  
"Loads of times."  
"On your feet?"  
"Fewer times, but yes."  
"More than 100?"  
Lexi sighed. "103."  
Maria rolled her eyes. "Fine. Remember, injuries-"  
"Are my fault."

Maria actually laughed at that. Stark heard the noise and looked toward the gymnastic equipment. At first he thought that Hill was just standing there by herself, but then he saw the young girl off to the side. He was distracted by the blood red curls, and a thought struck him.

_Natasha Romanoff had a daughter._

Two of them, based on the similarities between the older girl and the one he'd just seen.

Lexi set up the vault, and backed up. She stood completely still and just stared at the table, breathing. Finally, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to center herself. When she opened her eyes, she allowed herself one more breath before running toward the table.

Her hands hit and she threw herself into the air, twisting and turning around herself. She'd known as soon as her hands hit the table that she wasn't sticking the landing, but she was determined to land on her feet. At the very end of her last rotation, she threw herself around that extra bit that she needed, and managed to land on her feet. Before she had to take a few runs forward to ensure that she remain on her feet.

Maria saw, not that Lexi doubted she would, and called out to her.

"What did you do wrong?"  
"Hands."  
"What about them?"  
"Too far apart."  
"How are you going to fix it?"  
"Stop at the table."  
"How many times?"  
"7."  
"Go."  
With that, Maria turned her focus back to Ceara, who was doing back handsprings along the beam.

Lexi did just what she said she would, and on her eighth time approaching the table, her hands hit right where they should, and she managed to land on her feet, only needing a small step to stabilize herself.

"Better, Lex."  
"Thanks."  
Lexi made her way over to the beam and began helping her sister add flips to her routines. On one of the flips, Ceara moved to the side and Lexi knew immediately that if Ceara tried landing on the beam, she could get even more hurt.

"Этаж!" _'Floor!'_ she called to her sister. They'd come up with a system long ago to communicate things while one of them was in the air, and she knew Ceara would know what to do.  
So while Rogers and Stark looked on in slight horror as they realized that the little girl was moving even further away from the beam, without appearing to be doing anything to prevent injury, Lexi stepped closer to her sister, and held her arms out. A split second later, Ceara landed in Lexi's outstretched arms, no more damage done than getting the wind knocked out of her.

"Thanks."  
"Don't worry about it. You threw yourself to the right instead of straight back."  
"Ok."  
"Do 10 on the floor."  
Ceara nodded, and did 10 backflips under her sister's careful scrutiny.  
"Good. Remember how that feels?"  
"Yup."  
"Ok. Try it again."  
Ceara nodded and jumped onto the beam. She looked down at her sister for a moment  
"Standing?"  
"Yes."  
Ceara nodded again and did a backflip, landing just as she was supposed to.  
"Better."

Ceara took a step toward the end of the beam, but her legs gave out and sent her tumbling off it, although she was lucky that Lexi was there to catch her. Lexi looked over her once and pointed to the floor area.

"5 minutes to rest. Then start stretching."  
Ceara sighed but nodded. Lexi gave her kiss on the cheek before tugging her grips back on and heading back to the bars. She began transitioning seamlessly from one bar to the other, making sure she kept her legs together while she was in the air. Her dismount wasn't particularly challenging, but Lexi enjoyed doing it, mostly because she always stuck the landing.

When Lexi was done on the bars, Maria told them it was time to leave, so the girls grabbed their things and left the training center. On the way out, Lexi waved to Steve, who waved back.

Their mother was waiting in the living room for them when they arrived. She sent Ceara off to shower, and told Lexi that they needed to talk.

"What's wrong?"  
"I'm going to interrogate Loki."  
"He's responsible for this, isn't he?"  
"Yeah."  
"Be careful. Don't let him in."  
"I never do."  
"I'm just saying. He's good at playing with people, don't let him play with you."  
Natasha smiled at her daughter. "I won't."  
Lexi nodded, and Natasha left the room. She made her way soundlessly through the halls until she got to the room he was in. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open, slipping inside.

Loki's back was to her, something Natasha was grateful for.

"There are not many people that can sneak up on me."  
"But you figured I'd come."  
"After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate."  
Natasha took the opportunity to walk toward the demi god in the cell. **"**I wanna know what you've done to Agent Barton."  
**"**I'd say I've expanded his mind."  
**"**And once you've won. Once you're king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?"  
**"**Is this love, Agent Romanoff?"  
Natasha scoffed. **"**Love is for children. I owe him a debt." _My children love him. And maybe I'm a child too.  
_"Tell me."  
**"**Before I worked for SHIELD, I uh...well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skillset. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, he made a different call." _He saved me, and my daughter. Then he made me love him, and he gave me another daughter.  
_"And what will you do if I vow to spare him?"  
"Not let you out."  
"Ah, no. But I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"  
_He's more than just one man. _"Regime's fall everyday. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian. Or I was."  
"And what are you now?"  
_A wife. A mother. A friend._"It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger; I'd like to wipe it out."  
"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital file? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child's prayer. Pathetic! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away." Loki stepped up to the glass and slammed his fist on it. "I won't touch Barton! Not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams I'll split his skull!"

She'd been expecting some form of a threat, but nothing to that magnitude. She turned away, fighting tears as images flashed before her eyes, all the ways she'd told Clint that she feared would be her end.

"This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"  
"You're a monster." Natasha didn't have to work to put the tears in her voice, but she was dammed if she was going to let them fall.  
"Oh, no. You brought the monster."

Natasha whipped around, pushing her tears to the back of her mind for the time being.  
"So, Banner? That's your play?"  
"What?"  
"Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Natasha said into her earpiece, before turning back to Loki.  
"Thank you, for your cooperation."

Natasha hurried out of the room. When she knew she was far enough away, she touched her earpiece again.

"Keep the girls away from Banner's lab."  
_Too late. I've got Ceara, but I don't know where Lexi went. She got a little annoyed, so I'm assuming she went to one of the nests. I've got Jones looking for her._ Phil answered.

Natasha sighed. She really didn't need to deal with Lexi not listening.

_I know what you're thinking, Tasha. But it honestly was the best thing for her. Something happened, and she started screaming. Ceara was the only one in the room with her, and she thinks she fell asleep. But when I finally got her awake, she shoved me away and took off running.  
_Well that certainly wasn't what Natasha was expecting. "Alright. I'll go find her."  
_No. Go to the lab and work on things there. She'll be fine._

Natasha agreed and continued on to Banner's lab.

She walked in just after Rogers and Stark. Stark noticed her presence as soon as she entered.

"Question, Ms. Romanoff. Or is it Rushman? Rushmanoff? Oh, Natashalie Rushmanoff. I like it, It's got a nice ring to it."  
"Can it, Stark."  
"Touchy. Anyways, who do the kids belong to?"  
"What kids?" Natasha asked, even as her heart stopped.  
"Fine, we'll play your game. The two kids I saw this morning in the gym with Hill. One of them looks exactly like you. The other one is slightly different, but still eerily similar. So who's are they? Yours obviously, but who's the father?"

Before anyone could stop her, she had both her guns drawn and pointed at the billionaire's head.  
"One more word about either of them, Stark. I dare you." She hissed.

Even as someone with a reputation of not particularly caring about his life, Stark wasn't stupid, so he dropped it. But not before Banner and Rogers managed to put everything together.

"That kid?" Rogers asked.  
"I met her. Sweet kid." Banner added.  
The door slid open then, and a cheery voice answered. "Thanks!"

Lexi was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips, looking exactly like her mother.

"Alexis." Natasha hissed.  
"What?"  
"Вы знаете, что. Вы сказали не ходить никуда без одного из нас. Оставь сейчас. Я хочу, чтобы вы остались с Сеара." _'You know what. You were told not to go anywhere without one of us. Leave now. I want you to stay with Ceara.'  
_"De én veled vagyok most, így rendben van." _'But I'm with you right now, so it's ok.'  
_"Alexin. Non opus est. Es parvulus. Relinquunt. Ante ego contristo vos." _'Alexis. You don't need to be here. You're a child. Leave. Before I make you sorry.'  
_Lexi's face froze as she heard what her mother said. Natasha realized what the words would mean to her daughter a second too late. When she opened her mouth to speak, Lexi screamed over her.

"Feicfidh tú a dhéanamh dom brón orm? Tá mé cheana leithscéal go leor, agus tú ní a dhéanamh a fheiceáil! Níl a fhios agat cad a chonaic mé! Nach bhfuil tú an ceann atá ag dul ar chlé i gcónaí taobh thiar de! Tá mé tinn de é! Tá a fhios agat gur féidir liom cabhrú, ach a chóireáil tú dom mar leanbh! Níl mé le leanbh níos mó! Chaith mé bliain gan ceachtar agaibh, agus rinne mé cinnte go rinne Ceara agus mé amach é an taobh eile! Tá mé. Níl. A. Leanbh!" _'You'll make me sorry? I'm already sorry enough, and you just don't see it! You don't know what I saw! You aren't the one who's constantly getting left behind! I'm sick of it! You know I can help, but you treat me like a child! I'm not a child anymore! I spent a year without either of you, and I made sure that Ceara and I made it out the other side! I'm. Not. A. Child!'  
_"Dakit. Hogei baino gutxiago ez oinak sortu nahi dut, ulertzen?" _'I know. I want you no less than twenty feet up, understood?'  
_"Tak." _'Yes.'  
_"Gå till huvud-nästet. Bråka inte. Jag är säker på att där finns massor att göra där. Var bara säker på att du har din båge och ditt koger. Skaffa en öronsnäcka och vänta tills jag säger till. Och var säker på att inte Ceara see dig." _'Go to the main nest. Don't argue. There will be plenty to do from there, I'm sure. Make sure you have your bow and quiver. Get an earpiece and wait until you get word. Make sure Ceara doesn't see you.'_

Lexi nodded once and left the room, nearly running into Fury on her way.

"What the hell was that?" Fury asked.

Natasha just gave him a look, and he nodded.

"It was a massive catfight. Although spider fight might be better." Stark said.  
Natasha turned her gun back on Stark, clicking the safety off.  
"Sorry!"  
Before Natasha could get another word in, Fury was talking, and then everyone was yelling at everyone else. Their fight escalated and it seemed like Banner was going to snap. Luckily the computer tracking the tesseract beeped, and pulled banner back to reality.

Just after he noticed something important, an explosion rocked the hellicarrier. Everyone was thrown in different directions. Natasha was trapped under a pipe of some kind, next to an apparently _very_ angry Dr. Banner.

Natasha did her best to calm him down, but she slipped up, and it sent Banner over the edge. She watched in horror as he hulked out, barely managing to get her ankle free before she was trying to avoid getting smashed. She got away for a brief moment, long enough to hear Maria tell her that Ceara was safe, and for her to hear Lexi tell her that she was in the nest, ready to shoot something. But before long, the Hulk found her, and began chasing her. He knocked her into a very hard metal wall, and would have undoubtedly done some more damage if Thor hadn't chosen that moment to come flying in from wherever the hell he'd been. Natasha curled into herself, trying to shake the fear that the Hulk had thrown on her.

* * *

Lexi was sitting in one of Clint's main nests. It had a great vantage point to the bridge below, and was directly across from one of his other nests. So when she saw movement in the other nest, she knew what it meant.

"Clint." She whispered. She tried getting out of the nest, just in case. But as she started moving, the ship rocked again, and she was sent into the wall, making a loud noise.  
_That's probably not good._ She thought. She dropped her bow and shucked her quiver, her sole focus was getting out of the nest.

She jumped onto a platform and started running, twisting and turning. She allowed herself a brief rest when she thought she was far enough away. But a second later, arms were around her, throwing her onto the ground on her back. She looked into her father's face, but she knew instantly that he was no longer there. She reached a hand up and switched off her earpiece, knowing her mother was still listening, as was everyone else, and she knew that if anyone heard what was undoubtedly going to happen, they wouldn't hesitate to kill him. And Lexi wasn't going to let that happen.

"Папа?" Lexi whispered.  
Clint growled in response. He moved his right hand to hold Lexi's throat to the ground, effectively choking her. Lexi thrashed and managed to kick him sharply in the shin. His grip loosened slightly, but it was enough for Lexi to squirm out of his reach. She knew he was likely going to try to kill her, but she'd also heard Fury say that he was the cause of this, and knew that her mother would be coming soon. So she only needed to survive until her mom arrived.

"Папа, please. Try to fight him." Lexi pleaded.  
"Why would I fight him? He's told me my mission. I must complete my mission."  
"But that's not you!" Lexi screamed. "You're more than the orders you're given! You always have been. If you followed your orders, I'd probably be dead, and so would Мама! You wouldn't have us or Ceara!"  
"You should be dead. Natasha should be dead."  
"You don't mean that!"  
Clint growled again in response, and lunged for Lexi. She didn't try to stop him, just let him throw her to the ground again. He pulled a knife and held it to her throat. Lexi closed her eyes and tried to ignore the cool metal pressed against her throat. She could feel his hand on her throat, cutting off her oxygen while he simultaneously contemplated slitting her throat.

As her vision blurred and faded, Lexi stopped struggling. She tried to stay conscious, but all she could hear in her mind was a song.

_Buachaill ón Éirne mé 's bhréagfainn cailín deas óg  
Ní iarrfainn bó spré léi tá mé fhéin saibhir go leor  
'S liom Corcaigh da mhéid é, dhá thaobh  
a' ghleanna 's Tír Eoghain  
'S mura n-athraí mé béasaí 's mé n' t-oidhr'  
ar Chontae Mhaigh Eo  
_Before she could finish the song, everything went black.

* * *

**Clint**

I was in my nest, trying to fight what Loki wanted. But that _thing _inside me wouldn't let me. As I was finishing, I saw a flicker of movement directly across from me, in another of my nests.

_It_ didn't know what it was, but I did. Lexi. She'd apparently convinced Tasha to let her help. While I knew that she was actually very good with a bow, I knew instantly that _It_ was going to chase her down.

I tried fighting, but it wouldn't work. I must have blacked out momentarily, because one moment I was staring at my daughter across the bridge, and the next, I had her pinned down on one of the catwalks. I felt her kick me, and I was glad. I'd taught her to never go down without a fight, even if she trusted whoever was hurting her. _And she'd listened._ She managed to get away, and I was proud of her. But _It_ was annoyed. Furious. I tried to tune out whatever _It_ was thinking, and focus on her words.

"Папа, please. Try to fight him."  
_I will, Lex._ "Why would I fight him? He's told me my mission. I must complete my mission." _NO! She's your daughter!  
_"But that's not you!" She yelled at me. ""You're more than the orders you're given! You always have been. If you followed your orders, I'd probably be dead, and so would Мама! You wouldn't have us or Ceara!"  
_I know, Lex. I know. And if none of you existed, it would break my heart. _"You should be dead. Natasha should be dead." _No! I don't mean that!  
_"You don't mean that!"  
_I know, Lexi. I know._

But _It _growled in response and attacked her again. But this time, she didn't try to fight. And that annoyed _me._ I'd taught her to always fight, but she wasn't fighting.  
_It_ pulled a knife from my boot, and held it to her throat. I was glad when she closed her eyes. Glad she wouldn't have to see this. I knew that if I ever got rid of this thing in my head, I'd never stop seeing it.

_How could I be holding a knife to my beautiful daughter's throat?_

I felt my other hand go up to her throat as well, but I knew this one was me. I knew that if I could cut off her oxygen long enough for her to pass out, _It _would think she was dead, and if I could convince _It_ that she was dead, someone might find her and protect her.

As I pressed my hand to her throat, I felt a strange sensation. At first I thought it was a weird feeling because I was choking my daughter. But then I realized that Lexi was humming softly to herself.

I pushed _It_ aside and listened. My heart broke when I recognized her bedtime song. It was almost enough for me to stop what I was doing, but then _It_ tried to take control again, and I remembered why I was doing this.

Finally, I felt her body go still, I hoped to a god I didn't believe in that she was just unconscious. But before I could check, _It_ dragged me off the ground and on my way.

* * *

**Natasha**

Natasha heard Fury's voice on the earpiece, and she knew that she had to go to Clint. She knew that anyone else would try to kill him, and she couldn't let that happen.  
So she jumped up and ran through the hellicarrier. She got onto the platform she knew he'd be using, and stopped cold.

_No. No no no no no. _Natasha ran to the body lying on the platform, tears slipping from her eyes.

She turned off her earpiece just as she reached her daughter's body.

"Oh, God. Lexi. Baby, please." Natasha picked up her daughter's body and held it close to her chest.  
"Come on, Lexi. Please, Sweetie."

Natasha placed two fingers on Lexi's neck, trying to ignore the shivers that crept over her as she saw handprints that would most likely belong to her husband. She held her fingers there for a few moments, more tears spilling as she couldn't find a pulse. Lexi's limp body slipped from Natasha's arms as Natasha began crying. Finally she pulled herself together enough to try to figure out a way to bring her daughter back.

"No! Alexis, don't you dare! You're stronger than this. We did not go through the _hell_ the Red Room put us through for you to do this. You didn't become who you are just to let this happen."  
Still nothing.  
"Goddammit! I didn't raise you to be a fighter for you to give up! You know better than this! Fight back!" Without thinking, Natasha slapped Lexi across the face as she screamed the last bit.

Immediately she realized what she'd done. In all their fights, Natasha had never once hit her daughter, never. The only time they'd gotten into physical fights was on the sparring mat, and Natasha had always made sure that she didn't do anything to leave marks on either of her daughters.

But as she dragged Lexi's body into her chest to kiss her cheek where she'd just hit her, she heard a slight choking sound, like someone coughing. Upon further investigation, she realized it was coming from her daughter. She carefully placed her fingers back on Lexi's throat and almost started crying again when she felt a pulse, albeit weak, under her fingers.

"Oh, thank god." Natasha hugged her daughter tightly, peppering her temple with kisses.

She reached up and turned on her earpiece.

"Coulson. Come get Lexi. She on the platforms near the detention level. Ignore everything you see, I'll explain later. I'll kill whoever else decides to come with you. And I mean it. Come _alone._"  
Once she got an affirmative answer, Natasha kissed Lexi's head once more before standing and hurrying in the direction she knew Clint would have gone.

She managed to catch up to him before he got to Loki. Their fight was brutal, but Natasha was determined to not only beat up the possessed Clint, but the real on buried deep inside his mind. She knew it wasn't entirely his fault, but she knew that when he woke up and realized what he'd done, and saw the marks on Lexi's throat, he'd want a new scar in an uncomfortable place, some kind of his insane self loathing thing he did.

As much as she wanted to save him pain- or at least as much pain as she could- she couldn't deny the satisfaction she got out of hearing the thunk of his skull on the railing, or the feeling of her fist solidly connecting with his skull as she finally knocked him out.

* * *

**Clint**

I tried to make _It_ walk slower, so that Natasha would be able to catch up. I knew she was coming, she'd have to be. And I knew that she'd see Lexi, which meant it would take longer for her to get to me.

But she did eventually, and I could instantly tell that she wasn't going to go easy. I could see the pain she was trying to hide; I knew she'd thought for a few moments that Lexi was dead; she might even have actually been dead.

But I knew that she was alive, even if it was just barely, because for as much as Natasha would want revenge on me if I did kill her daughter, she wouldn't leave her so close to the actual event. She would have come after me later. So I took some comfort in the fact that Lexi was alive somewhere, just maybe not in the greatest of states.

So when Natasha threw me headfirst into the railing, I welcomed it. I knew I'd have a scar on my side, courtesy of my beautiful wife, and I welcomed that as well.

But I didn't welcome anything as much as when Tasha was standing over me after I'd hit my head. I could feel _It_ leaving me, but I knew I needed another good hit to the head to completely get rid of it.

So when Natasha drew back her arm to hit me, I'm not ashamed to say that I was _excited_. Because I knew she'd found a way to get _It_ out.  
The last thing I remember is Natasha's fist connecting with the side of my head, and everything went black.

* * *

**Lexi**

Lexi was floating. Not really, but that's what it felt like. It felt like her body was floating, drifting in a sea of nothingness. For a moment she thought she'd died, which would have sucked. She was still a kid, more mature than maybe she ought to be, but a kid nonetheless. Her throat ached, and that's when she remembered Clint pinning her down and choking her. But she couldn't find it in herself to be angry. Because, as crazy as it sounds, she knew he'd had to do it. When he had her pinned and was about to slit her throat, she saw something shift in his eyes. That little thing told her that Clint was still in there, and that he'd taken control, just for that moment. She knew that whatever that other thing possessing him was would try to kill her, and that Clint was making it appear as though she really was.

She just wished he hadn't done such a good job of it.

As she lay floating, she heard a noise, off in the distance. It sounded familiar, although she couldn't quite place it. She tried to listen to what it was saying, but it gave her a headache. Finally, she felt something hit across her face, and that's what brought her back. She knew instantly that her mother had hit her, and the shock from that was what got her heart pumping again.

She felt her mom pick her up and apologize for hitting her. Lexi knew she needed to say something, but all she could muster was a weak cough. That seemed to have been enough though, because she felt fingers on her neck, and then her mother was thanking a god Lexi was pretty sure no one in her family actually believed in.

She heard her mother tell Phil to come get her, and she was grateful. For as much as she wanted her mother to stay with her, Lexi wanted nothing more than for Clint to come back to her family, and she knew that her mom was the only person who could do that.

So she waited a few minutes for Phil to finally get to her. He gasped when he saw her, but after checking for a pulse, he lifted her from the ground and carried her away. She heard him bark at some of the people in medical, and she would have smiled, if she hadn't just been nearly dead.

She felt Phil lay her down on a bed, and stroke her hair. It felt nice, not as good as when Natasha or Maria did it, but nice nonetheless. She heard the door open, and she heard a voice talking.

"We need you to check on Loki." Fury said.  
"No."  
"I'm sorry?"  
"I said no. I'm not leaving her side until I know what the hell happened. Because I have my ideas, and if I'm right, I'll end up killing one of my agents. And that would be bad, because I'd be leaving two girls with no father, and I'd make the Black Widow a real widow. Again. So no. I'm not leaving."

Lexi heard Fury sigh, but the door closed, and she knew he was gone. She decided it was as good a time as any to try to tell him what happened. She slowly opened her eyes, and turned her head to look at the agent sitting next to her.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty."  
"I hate her." Or at least that's what Lexi tried to say, but it came out all scratchy. Phil left for a moment and returned with a water bottle, which Lexi drained in seconds.

"Wow, kiddo. Slow down there."  
"Sorry." Lexi's voice was still raspy, and it hurt like hell, but she needed to tell him this.  
"It's ok. Rest your voice. If those bruises are what I think they are, talking's got to be painful."  
"Can't. I need to tell you what happened."

Phil sighed, but nodded.

"It wasn't Clint. Well it was, but he didn't have a choice. I know it sound crazy, but he didn't. Whatever took over him was going to kill me, so Clint tricked it. He made me pass out to make the other thing think I was dead. And it worked."  
Lexi started coughing intensely when she was done, and Phil left again, returning with three water bottles, and handing one over. After drinking half of one of them, Lexi smiled.  
"Thanks."  
"Regardless of what you say, Lex, Clint did that to you."  
"I know. But I don't care. Because I saw his eyes. At first they were cold, and I didn't think he was anywhere in there. But then I started humming this one song, and I saw the pain in his eyes. He recognized the song, Phil. If he hadn't done it, the other thing would have slit my throat."

Phil nodded. He honestly believed her. He knew Clint Barton, knew the kind of man he was. He knew that he would never hurt his wife or children, and that if he did, there would be a very good reason behind it.

Before he cold speak again, the door opened and Natasha was standing in the doorway, tears sliding down her cheeks.

Phil stood and left the room, allowing the two of them time to themselves.

"Мама, I'm sorry."  
"No."  
Lexi looked at her mother, worried that she was in trouble. "I didn't try to find him, Мама, honest. I wasn't looking to run in to him."  
"Lexi, shut up."  
Lexi quieted instantly, choosing to drink from her water bottles instead while Natasha made her way to sit next to Lexi on the bed.

"Thank you. I know you didn't go looking for him. I know you're not dumb enough to do that. But I thought… I thought…"  
"You thought I was dead?"  
"Yeah. I thought that all of our time together was over, and it was terrifying. I thought he killed you."  
"But he didn't!"  
"Lexi."  
"No! Listen to me, ok? Yes, they were his hands, but it wasn't _him._ Whatever Loki put in his head, that's what it was. It was going to slit my throat, but he made it stop. He knew that if I passed out, it would leave me alone. So he made me pass out. It might not have been the nicest of things, but it worked."  
"I know. I know he didn't do it. That's what I was going to tell you."  
"Oh. Well, then I guess we're agreed."  
"I guess so. I also wanted to apologize."  
"I know. But don't worry, Мама. You slapping me is what got my heart beating again. It was such a shock that it brought me back. So thank you."  
Natasha smiled at her daughter. Suddenly, Lexi was wrapped in her mother's arms as her mom whispered into her hair.

"I thought you were gone. I thought you were gone just like that."  
"You can't get rid of me that easily."  
Natasha smiled as she hugged her daughter tighter.

"Where is he?" Lexi asked suddenly.  
"Clint?"  
"Yeah."  
"He's across the hall. Still unconscious. I know he's going to want to see you, even though he'll be pissed at himself. So stay here and drink more water, ok? And when he's ready, I'll stand by the window to his room, and whenever you're ready after that, you can come over. How does that sound?"  
"Ok."  
"Alright. Get cleaned up. And I hate to tell you, but you're going to have to zip your collar up all the way to hide the bruises."  
"Ok."  
"Ok. I love you."  
"I love you too."  
Natasha hugged her daughter again before kissing her head and leaving the room and making her way back across the hall.

Lexi got out of the bed and went to the adjoined bathroom. Her suit was relatively intact, her hair was the main thing out of place. Lexi found a brush the cabinet on the wall, one of the things SHIELD provided to every agent in medical, for some weird reason. She ran the brush through her curls before putting it up and out of the way, just like her mother had taught her. She went beck to the door when she was done, and saw that her mother was looking for her from Clint's room.

Lexi took a deep breath and stepped from her room to the hallway. She carefully walked across the short hallway until she was just outside of Clint's room.

She took another deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside.

* * *

**There you go! I realize that a lot of heavy things happened, but I've been promising this to you guys for so long, that it felt wrong holding anymore back.**

**1)I tried some more stuff from Clint's POV, as well as stuff focusing on Natasha. I know it might seem funny that I did Clint's stuff in 1****st**** person while Natasha and Lexi's stuff are in 3****rd**** person, but I really wanted to exemplify the struggle between Clint and the crap Loki shoved into his head.**

**2) I hope you were all happy with the lack of Phil dying. I can't even tell you how many reviews I got telling me not to kill him. But don't worry, I was never planning on killing him. From the first chapter I decided he wasn't going to die, so there you have it!**

**3) Please don't hate me for what I put Lexi through. I had always had it planned like this, just not to this extent. But once I started writing, it went off on its own, and I couldn't stop it. So I'm sorry if it really bugs you.**

**That's it for the ridiculously long author's note!  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Just so you know, this is taking place during the last bit of the previous** **chapter, but then it all catches up.**

* * *

Natasha watched as Clint slowly started coming to. She knew that fully getting Loki out of Clint's head had been painful for him, but a part of her felt like he deserved it. She knew he hadn't been in control of himself, but a part of her couldn't forget that it was Clint's handprint on Lexi's neck.

While she'd been distracted by her thoughts, Clint had started coming around. Natasha felt slightly bad about the restraints, but she knew it was necessary. If it was Clint, he'd be mad that she wasn't being careful, and if Loki was still in his head, he could try to kill her again.

"You're going to be alright, Clint."  
"You know that? Is that what you know? I got no window, to flush him out."  
Natasha stood and went to the tray by his bed and poured him a glass of water. "You gotta level out, it's gonna take time."  
"You don't understand. Have you ever had some take your brain and play? Pull you out and stuff something else in? Do you know what it's like to be unmade?"  
Natasha froze. "You know that I do."  
Clint flinched slightly. "Why am I back? How'd you get him out?"  
Natasha made her way to sit next to him on the bed. Her mouth twitched slightly, and Clint knew she was smiling. "Cognitive recalibration. I hit you really hard in the head."  
"Thanks."

Clint paused for a moment and Natasha began removing the restraints, having determined that he was fully back in his head.  
"Tasha. How many agents-"  
"Don't. Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for."  
"Loki, he get away?"  
"Yeah." Natasha said as she went to the door to look into the room across from her. She saw Lexi heading to the bathroom, no doubt to try to hide the bruises. "Don't suppose you know where?" She continued.  
"Didn't need to know. Didn't ask. He's gonna make his play soon though. Today."  
Natasha turned around. "We gotta stop him."  
"Yeah?" Clint asked. "Who's we?"  
"I don't know. Whoever's left."  
"Well, if I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket, I'd sleep better I suppose."  
"Now you sound like you."  
"Yeah, but you don't. You're a spy, not a soldier. Now you want to wade into a war. Why? What did Loki do to you?"  
"He didn't. He just..."

Natasha turned away from him. She wanted to tell him, but she couldn't find it in herself. How do you tell someone you love that you couldn't deal with the possibility that they wouldn't return to you? Especially when you were supposed to be emotionless.

"Tasha." Clint whispered.  
"I've been compromised. I got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out."

Clint nodded slightly. He knew what she was telling him, without her having to say it. That was the great thing about their relationship. They knew what the other was thinking, without anything being said.

"Tasha?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Can you tell me something?"  
"It depends."  
"Just tell me if it really happened."  
"What?"  
"I have these pictures in my head, of Lexi and me. Here on the hellicarrier. It's like I'm trying to kill her. That didn't really happen did it?"  
Natasha took a deep breath to answer, but before she could, the door opened and Lexi was there.

"Hi, Папа."  
"Hey, Lex."  
Lexi walked into the room. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, and she felt the need to tell her parents that she still trusted Clint. So she walked in and gave him a hug. Clint smiled and shifted her onto his lap, holding her tightly.

"Lexi, I…"  
"No."  
"What?"  
"I know what you're going to say. And I'm telling you not to say it."  
"Listen, Lexi."  
"No. I'm not going to listen to you. I didn't come in here to listen to your pity party. I don't blame you for anything that happened, and I never will."  
Clint wanted to say something else, but he knew Lexi wouldn't let him say more than two words.

"I love you, Lexi."  
"I love you too, Папа."  
Lexi snuggled closer to Clint, smiling slightly as she realized that he was back.

"Clint?"  
"Yeah, Tasha?"  
"I hate to tell you, but you need to shower or doing something if you want to leave this room."  
Clint chuckled, but moved Lexi off his lap and went into the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed, Natasha was next to Lexi. She reached out carefully and unzipped the top of her daughter's catsuit. The bruises didn't look horrible, but she knew that by tomorrow, they'd be horrible.

"I don't think he noticed." Lexi said quietly.  
"He did." Natasha sighed.  
"How do you know?"  
"You never have it zipped that high. That combined with what you said, and the fact that he kind of remembers hurting you. He knows."  
"I tried-"  
"Not your fault he found out."

Lexi nodded. Natasha was still looking at Lexi's neck when the main door opened, and Steve stood in the doorway.

"Time to go."  
"Go where?" Natasha asked.  
"I'll explain on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"  
Before Natasha could answer, the bathroom door opened and Clint addressed Steve, while Lexi hurriedly zipped up her suit. If they were leaving, they were going to fight, and she didn't need him distracted.  
"I can." Clint said.

Steve glanced from him to Natasha. She would have rolled her eyes, if she hadn't been expecting it. She nodded slightly, and Steve turned back to Clint.

"You got a suit?"  
"Yeah."  
"Then suit up. We're leaving in 45 minutes."  
The assassins nodded, and Steve left. As soon as he was gone, Lexi was making her way to the door.

"Lexi, What are you doing?" Natasha asked.  
"I'm going to get ready to go."  
"Lexi." Natasha began.  
"No. You of all people can't expect me not to do this. I'm going."  
"Look, Lex. It's going to be dangerous."  
That sent Lexi over the edge. "You don't think I know that? You don't think I know what he's capable of? I'm not a child anymore!"  
"I never said you were." Clint responded calmly.  
"You might as well have."  
"Look. He didn't hurt you. Aside from taking me, he didn't do anything to you."

Natasha knew what was coming as soon as the first part of his statement had been said.

"He didn't hurt me?! Is that really what you just said?" Lexi nearly shrieked. "Aside from the fact that he took you, which was horrible, yes, he did!"  
"Really?" Clint asked. Natasha could vaguely see a light in his eyes, almost hoping that he was right, but fearing that he was wrong. "How?"  
Lexi had had enough. She grabbed the zipper of her suit and before Natasha could stop her, she tugged it down.

"He did this! He nearly killed me. So I'll be dammed if I let you guys fight him without me!"  
Clint saw the bruises on his daughter's neck, and knew instantly that they would match his hand. He slowly stepped forward, his hand outstretched.

Lexi was expecting it, and forced herself not to flinch away. Clint's hand lightly rested on her neck, matching the bruises perfectly.

"Really? He did this? Because I'm pretty sure these won't match his hands."  
"Maybe not, but that doesn't change anything. I know that you never would have done it, and that's all that matters. You wouldn't have hurt me at all if he hadn't forced you to."  
"Lexi, I don't know how you can say that."  
"Just shut up!" Lexi finally yelled.

Clint was shocked by her outburst, but quieted immediately. Lexi turned to face her mother, momentarily ignoring Clint.

"I'm going. Same rules as earlier?"  
Natasha sighed, but nodded. She knew that if she didn't give permission, Lexi would find a way to follow them. And they'd be able to protect her if they knew she was there.

Lexi smiled, and skipped from the room. "I'm going to get all my stuff. I'll come back here."  
Natasha nodded again, and Lexi left the room. As soon as the door was closed, Natasha turned to face Clint.

"Don't you dare, Clint."  
"Tasha. You saw the marks. Why aren't you killing me right now?"  
"Because Lexi's right. You never would have hurt her if Loki hadn't made you."  
"Tasha, that's not the point. I tried to kill my daughter!"  
"Clint, shut up. I'm sick of hearing your self-loathing. Yes, you could have killed her, but to hear her side of the story, you choking her was the only alternative to slitting her throat. Now, if you'd slit her throat, I would still be in the process of killing you. But you didn't. I've had bruises worse than that; they look worse than they feel. She'll be totally fine in a few days, unless she gets hurt out there today."  
"Why are you letting her go?" Clint whispered. Natasha knew his change of subject meant that he was done with the pity party, at least for now.

"I'm letting her go because I'd rather know that she's there and be able to protect her if need be, than not know she'd found a way to wherever we're going, and not be able to do anything if something happens."  
Clint sighed, and nodded his head.

"Good. Now go put your suit on, and we'll go get your bow and arrows when Lexi gets back."  
Clint went to the bag Natasha had brought in with her, and pulled his suit out. As he began removing his clothes, he remembered another of his questions.

"What are the rules Lexi was talking about?"  
"No less than twenty feet off the ground. That's the main one."  
"So she'll be with me?"  
"Assuming you find a decent roof, yes. And before you worry about hurting her again, she just got exploding arrows, and she really likes using them."  
Clint chuckled at that, and nodded. Just after he finished getting dressed, the door opened, and Lexi came in.

"I got your bow for you, Папа." She said, and held out the currently folded bow. Clint took it with a smile and then took the quiver she held out to him.  
"Where's yours, Lex?" He asked.

Lexi gestured to her back, which had her quiver, and then Clint saw the bow slung across her shoulders, just like he usually did.

"Bites?" Natasha asked.

Lexi held up her hands, and they could see the bites, fully charged.

"Smoke?"  
Lexi reached into her belt and pulled one of the smoke grenades out and held it up before replacing it.

"Gun?"  
Lexi gestured to her right hip, where the gun she'd received for her birthday was resting.

"Knife?"  
"You mean knives?" Lexi asked.

Natasha smiled and nodded. Lexi pulled two from her waistband and another two from her ankles.

"You have more?" Natasha asked.

"Yup."  
Natasha nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Then let's go."  
Together, they left the room, and went to the landing strip. Natasha went into one of the rooms along the way and stocked up on the weapons for her belt. When she was done, they went to where the plane would be waiting for them.

When they arrived, Steve was already waiting, along with Stark.

"Whoa! There's a baby spider!" Stark exclaimed.

Before Natasha could say anything, Lexi had her bow trained on his chest, and a very scary smile on her face.  
"One more word, Stark, I dare you." Lexi hissed.

Natasha and Clint had to work hard not to laugh, while Stark looked slightly terrified, even if he had his suit on.

"Sorry!" He squeaked.

Lexi nodded, but didn't lower the bow.

"I'm going to fly straight there." Stark went on, eyes never leaving the weapon pointed at his face.  
"Where is there?" Natasha asked.  
"My tower."

Natasha nodded, and stepped directly behind Lexi. She gently laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder. When Lexi turned to look at her, Natasha shook her head. Lexi sighed, but lowered her bow. Natasha took the arrow, and placed it back in Lexi's quiver.

"Let's go." She said.

Clint, Natasha, and Lexi followed Steve onto the plane, while Stark took off. Moments later, the plane was in the air and headed for Manhattan.

* * *

**Yay for new chapters! I hope you guys liked it!  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry it's been a few days! I try to get updates out almost everyday, but I've been kind of busy lately.**

* * *

Lexi watched as her parents got in the pilot seats and moved the aircraft toward the runway. Natasha looked behind her and saw her daughter still standing.

"Lexi, seatbelt."  
Lexi nodded and picked a seat before strapping herself in. Suddenly, Steve remembered a crucial piece of information.

"Don't you have another daughter? The little girl Stark and I saw with Lexi in the gym?"  
"Ceara." Lexi said softly.  
"We do."  
"Where is she?" Steve asked. Surely times hadn't changed so much that people would run off without worrying for their children's safety.  
"Safe." Was all Natasha said.  
"Мама." Lexi said softly. The last time she remembered seeing her little sister was before Lexi had left the apartment and decided she needed to fight. "Where is she?" She asked softly.  
Natasha sighed. "Safe. Phil had a sudden desire to visit Portland, and he took her with him."  
Steve didn't understand what that meant, but judging by the smile that crossed Lexi's face, it was a good thing.

The flight wasn't the smoothest, but Clint wasn't worried about the comfort of the other people in the plane. He kept seeing the bruises on Lexi's throat, and he was desperate to kill the man that made him do it.

They arrived in Manhattan after Stark, and they all ignored his snarky comment about drive through. Clint maneuvered the plane through the tall buildings while Natasha handled the gun, taking down as many of the Chitauri as she could. The hovered above the tower while Natasha tried shooting Loki while he was fighting Thor. All that accomplished, however, was Loki aiming his scepter at the plane and taking out one of the engines. Lexi was shocked by the plane shaking, and held tightly to the seats next to her.

"We're landing." Clint said through clenched teeth as he steered the plane to a relatively empty section of the street. The plane hit the ground hard and skidded forward a bit, before stopping in front of a large building. Natasha and Clint were out of their seats before the plane had completely stopped. Natasha made her way to where Lexi was seated and began unbuckling her.

"You're sure you want to do this?" She asked, clearly hoping Lexi would change her mind.  
"Yes. He hurt me, I want to hurt him."  
"Ok. I swear, if you die on me I will resuscitate you and kill you again myself, you understand?" Natasha asked, hissing the last bit.  
"Understood."  
Clint stepped up next to Lexi and handed her the bow and quiver she'd just gotten. It was a smaller version of his own, and she had the same arrow tips he did, minus the sonic arrow. Even though Natasha had forbid him to use it after Sao Paulo, he always kept a tip with him, just in case. But neither of their children were ever allowed to use or touch one.

"Let's get this done." Clint said as he made sure that they both had plenty of arrows.

Together, the four of them stepped off the plane and into to the chaos that a moment ago was Manhattan. Lexi ran through the city with them, staying between her parents. When they got to where the most Chitauri seemed to be, they fanned out slightly and began taking them out. Clint stayed next to Lexi, just in case something happened with her bow. His had a button he could press that would fold part of it together and still work, so that she could use it, in case he had to fix hers in the field.

They crouched behind a car and Clint looked at her as she nocked the first arrow.

"Remember, Lex. Steady breathing."  
Lexi nodded once and took a deep breath. She felt all the pieces align in her mind, and on her exhale she released, hitting one of the aliens in the eye, causing it to fall over.

"Good. Remember where yours fall. You might be able to get some arrows back."  
Lexi nodded once more, and the conversation ceased.

Together, she and Clint shot down alien after alien, while Natasha and Steve were taking their own aliens down, and Tony was trying to figure out how to kill the space whale.

"That thing's hideous." Lexi muttered as she shot one of the ships down using only her peripheral vision. Clint had trained her well enough that her eyesight was nearly as good as his, and she was able to shoot without really looking.  
"They're fish in a barrel down there." Steve muttered  
"Go, we've got this." Natasha said as she shot down some more of the aliens.  
"Think you can hold them off?"  
"Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure." Clint said, clicking a few buttons on his bow and pulling an arrow from his quiver. He hit one of the Chitauri directly in the eye, and Lexi couldn't help but chuckle at his words.

Steve nodded and left the three of them to fend off the aliens in front of them. Clint went to help people off a bus, and Lexi fought alongside her mother. When Clint came back they began shooting together, and a thought struck Natasha.

"This is just like Budapest all over again." She called to Clint, not noticing the reaction from her daughter.  
"You and I remember Budapest very differently." He muttered in reply, noticing how Lexi had stiffened. "Lex, Think about it later. Your mind needs to be here." He told her gently.

Natasha looked at her daughter and recognized her look immediately. She reached out a hand and tapped Lexi's nose, their substitute for when there was no time for a kiss.

Lexi smiled as she shoved the unpleasant memories out of her mind and focused on the Chitauri advancing on her. She heard one behind her, and before Natasha could turn around to shoot it, Lexi had spun and stabbed an arrow into its eye socket.  
"Nice." She heard her mother say. Lexi allowed herself a brief smile before focusing again.

Steve returned and helped them fight off some more aliens. Just when it seemed that more were coming from every direction, bolts of lightning hit every one of the aliens around them, causing them to fall to the ground. A moment later, Thor landed and stumbled. Her parents were speaking with Steve and Thor while she tried to pay attention. She and Clint went about collecting arrows, and Natasha was reloading her guns.

"Lexi?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Your bites still working?"  
"Yeah. Why?"  
"Mine got busted."  
"You want both, or one?"  
"Give me you left. You're better with your right side anyways."  
Lexi nodded and removed her widow bite from her wrist and switched with her mother. Then she went back to collecting arrows and tips, placing them in her quiver as she went. She heard her father and Thor talking about scores to settle with Loki, but she didn't pay any attention.

There was a rumbling sound, and when they looked over, Bruce was driving up the street on a motorcycle that had definitely seen better days.

"This all seems horrible." He commented as he walked closer to the group.  
"I've seen worse." Natasha stated, remembering the hellicarrier.  
"Sorry."  
"No, we could use a little worse."  
"Stark we've got him." Steve said.  
"Banner?"  
"Just like you said."  
"Then tell him to suit up." The billionaire replied. "I'm bringing the party to you."  
The heroes turned toward Stark was flying and saw him leading the space whale around a corner.  
"I-I don't see how that's a party." Natasha said, causing Lexi to snort.  
Bruce's attention was drawn to Lexi at the noise, and he seemed slightly shocked to see her. He gave her a look and turned away, walking toward the whale.

"Dr. Banner." Steve said urgently. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."  
"That's my secret, Cap'n." He said as he gave one last look to the people behind him, his eyes lingering on Lexi. "I'm always angry."  
With that, he turned and hulked out, tearing his clothes.  
"Is it wrong that I found that really cool?" Lexi whispered to her father, causing him to chuckle.  
The Hulk walked forward a few steps and punched the creature in the face, causing it to fold in on itself, perpendicular to the ground.

"Hold on." Stark called as he launched an explosive toward the thing, and hit it's flesh.  
Clint knew immediately what was about to happen, and grabbed Lexi around the waist. He ducked behind a car and held her tightly to his chest, not caring if she had a bruise or two from it. He watched as Steve used his shield to cover his and Natasha's head, while Thor just brought his arm up to cover his face. Lexi was momentarily confused, until she heard things falling toward the ground.

"Alien guts. Yuck." She grumbled, causing Clint to laugh again.  
"I don't know how you're so funny, Lex." Clint said, kissing her temple.  
There was a horrible noise as they stood up, and then suddenly, more and more things were pouring from the portal.  
"Guys." Natasha called. _This is getting really old, really fast.  
_"Call it, Captain."  
"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays."  
Natasha glanced at her husband, and they silently decided that Lexi was staying on the ground. While originally they'd said she had to be at least 20 feet off the ground, Clint wouldn't be able to help her when they were on the roof. If she was on the ground, she could at least take cover somewhere.  
"Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or your turn it to ash." Steve continued.  
"Wanna give me a lift?" Clint asked Stark.  
"Right. Better clench up, Legolas."  
Clint did as he was told, and he and Stark took off a second later.  
"Thor, you gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow 'em down. You've got the lightning, light the bastards up."  
Thor grinned and swung Mjolnir a few times and took off. Steve turned toward Natasha and Lexi.  
"We stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk." Steve said, turning to face him. "Smash."  
The Hulk grinned, and left, jumping onto the side of a building and began smashing.

Lexi nocked an arrow and got ready. Natasha looked at her, and decided it was time for a new rule. She made her way to her daughter and looked her in the eye.  
"New rule."  
"What?"  
"You do exactly what I tell you. If I tell you to hide, I don't want arguments. You can yell at me later." She pulled her daughter into a hug for a moment and whispered in her ear, "I already thought I lost you. Don't make me think that again."

Lexi nodded, and Natasha pulled away. Immediately, they began attacking the new aliens surrounding them.  
They continued fighting, everyone calling out to everyone else over their earpieces, with the exception of the Hulk and Thor.  
"Lex. Talk to me." Clint said after a moment.  
"I'm here."  
"Good. Don't do anything stupid."  
Lexi smiled at his warning. "I won't if you don't." She responded, just like she always did.

Steve returned just as Natasha ripped out one of the Chitauri's necks. She heard movement behind her, and turned, almost using the Chitauri's weapon against him.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we can't close that portal."  
"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." He replied.  
"Well, maybe it's not about guns."  
"If you want to get up there, you're going to need a ride."  
"I've got one." Natasha said, looking at all the Chitarui flying above her. "I could use a boost though."  
She went to her daughter, who was quickly running out of arrows.

"Lexi."  
"It's ok. I still have a gun and some knives."  
"Ok. Be careful."  
"I always am."  
Natasha shot her a look that told her differently. She knew she needed to close the portal, but she didn't want to leave her daughter alone. She was looking around, when she saw it.

"Lexi, see that building over there?"  
"The red brick one?"  
"Yeah."  
"What about it?"  
"I want you on top of it. It's easy enough to scale."  
"Ok."  
Lexi was about to take off when Natasha grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She ripped off the Widow's Bite Lexi had given her earlier, and switched it with her original one.

"There. Just in case."  
"Thanks."  
Without warning, Natasha pulled her daughter into her chest.

"I love you, Lexi."  
"I love you too, Мама."  
They pulled apart and Natasha gave Lexi a shove toward the building. Once she saw her daughter start climbing, she stood across from the captain, and waited for a moment.

"You sure about this?" He asked.  
"Yeah. It'll be fun."  
When she saw her opportunity, she began running. She jumped onto the hood of a car, and used that to land on Steve's shield. He used his strength and her momentum to launch her into the air, allowing her to grab the bottom of one of the Chitauri ships, and eventually pull herself onto it, and she began steering, using the alien attached to the ship.

Lexi managed to make it to the top of the building without too much trouble. It had been easy enough to climb, and once she was on the roof, she was shooting again.

"Lex, where'd you go?" She heard Clint ask frantically.  
"Red brick building. Мама told me to get on the roof."  
"I see you." He replied, relief in his voice.  
She shot a few more aliens, and when she reached back to her quiver, her heart stopped.  
"Shit."  
"What? Alexis, what's wrong."  
"One arrow left."  
"Save it. Use your guns."  
"Got it."  
She collapsed her bow and tucked it into its spot in the quiver. She pulled out one of the guns she'd brought with her and began shooting.  
"Hawkeye!" She heard her mother call.  
"Nat, what are you doing?"  
"Мама?"  
"Uh, a little help!"  
"Мама!" Lexi called, panic in her voice.  
"I got him." Clint said calmly.

Lexi turned and found where her father was looking. She watched as his arrow flew through the air and for a moment she thought he'd catch Loki off guard. But at the last moment, the demi god grabbed the arrow. A flicker of disappointment hit Lexi, before the tip exploded, sending Loki hurtling out of the sky.  
Lexi seemed to be in a fairly safe location. There were a few Chitauri that approached, but she was able to shoot all of them. As she looked around herself, she saw the Hulk leap into Stark Tower, only to reappear moments later, a smug grin on his face.  
She heard Fury's voice in her ear, saying something about a nuclear weapon. She heard the billionaire reply that he would take care of it, and saw him take off.

Her gaze flickered to her father, and watched in horror as a group of Chitauri advanced on his position. Time seemed to slow as she watched him leap off the building.

"Папа!" She screamed.  
At the very last second, he released his arrow, creating a grappling line for him to swing on. She felt better for a moment, until she watched him fly through a plate glass window.  
"Папа!" She cried again. She didn't hear a response, only a grunt of pain.

Before she could grab her bow again and launch her own line to swing off the roof, she was surrounded.  
There were numerous ships pointed at her, as well as a few aliens on the ground around her. She knew she should try to get out of there, but she was frozen on the spot.

She heard her mother screaming in her ear, calling her name and Clint's name over and over again, but she couldn't find her voice to reply. Just as one of the aliens was about to attack her, she heard a roar, and the Hulk landed on the rooftop next to her. He grabbed two of the aliens on the ground and threw them off the building, allowing Lexi to snap back to reality and shoot the rest. One of the ships fired something and it missed her feet by inches. She heard another roar, and before she could comprehend what was going on, the Hulk had grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her into his body, wrapping himself around her. A second later, she heard the blasts from the Chitauri ships hitting the roof around her, and a louder noise as they hit something else. It took her a moment to realize that the something else that they were hitting was the Hulk. She moved her head slightly and caught his eyes. She could see pain in them, but also a hint of relief, as though he was glad he'd gotten to her in time.

The Chitauri seemed to give up after a moment, think the Hulk was dead. Carefully, the Hulk pushed some of the debris off of himself, and managed to stand up, still holding Lexi. He gently placed Lexi back on the ground, and they both looked up as Stark flew by with a nuclear weapon on his back.

He flew through the air and used his tower to get the angle right and fly through the portal.  
Lexi gasped in shock when she saw him disappear, having thought he was too selfish to do anything remotely close to what he'd just done.  
She shared a look with the Hulk, and it appeared that Dr. Banner was closer to the surface than she'd thought, because she could swear he was thinking along the same lines she was.

Suddenly, all the aliens dropped, including the space whales. Lexi was confused to say the least, but she wasn't complaining. Without warning, the Hulk grabbed her again, and jumped off the building. She was scared at first, but soon she was having fun. They were leaping from building to building until he set her on top of Stark tower. At that moment, Iron Man fell out of the portal, and the Hulk took off. She watched as he grabbed the man out of thin air and got him somewhat safely to the ground. Before she could register anything else, Lexi felt arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides.

When she turned around, she was face to face with her mother, who appeared to have let a few tears slip. Except that Lexi thought the Black Widow didn't cry.

Natasha turned off her earpiece, and then Lexi's as she pulled her daughter in for a hug.

"I thought I told you not to make me think you were dead."  
"I didn't do it on purpose." Lexi defended.  
Natasha just held her tighter. "I was so scared, Lexi. I saw Clint jump off a building, and then the building I told you to stay on was getting shot to hell."  
"I'm ok, Мама."

Natasha didn't respond. She pulled back slightly, and placed her hands on Lexi's face. Her thumbs stroked her daughter's cheekbones and she cringed when Lexi hissed in pain as her thumb brushed across a nasty gash on her face.  
Natasha ran her eyes over Lexi's body, looking for any other injuries. After a moment, she stood and pulled her daughter off the ground and onto her hip.  
"Мама, I can walk."  
"Your ankle's swollen, and so is your wrist. Your wrist is likely sprained, again, but I don't know about your ankle. And it looks like you've got a bullet wound in your leg."  
"I may have fired my gun on accident when the Hulk grabbed me." Lexi confessed.  
Natasha gave her daughter a stink eye and carried her from the tower. Together they made their way to the building Clint had swung into. Natasha carried Lexi up the stairs, since the elevator had been ruined.  
"I didn't realize you were this strong, Мама." Lexi said. The 11-year-old was by no means heavy, but she wasn't light either. She had a lot of muscle from her time training, and her mother really wasn't that big.  
"I've done this before." Was all Natasha said. Lexi immediately knew that her mother was talking about her time in the Red Room, and mentally berated herself for bringing it up.  
"Sorry." She whispered.  
"Don't be." Natasha replied as she kissed her daughter's temple.

They emerged on the floor Clint landed on, and found him lying on the floor.  
"Oi, Birdbrain, you gonna get up?" Natasha asked, her tone only slightly annoyed.  
Clint just groaned in pain, and Lexi noticed all the cuts littering his body.  
"I thought you said not to do anything stupid." She accused him.  
He opened his eyes and glared at her. "It was this or get blown up." He groaned.  
"Oh, shut up." Natasha said, her tone completely joking now.  
She set Lexi on the ground and told her to keep her weight off her ankle. She then held out a hand and helped Clint to his feet. He hissed as he stood, grimacing in pain.  
"What?"  
"Knee."  
"Same one?"  
"Yup. Busted it again."  
"Sit."  
Natasha rolled up his pant leg when he complied and gently prodded his knee. Without warning, she pushed, and a pop sounded in the room.  
"Fuck! A little warning next time, Tasha!"  
"Don't be a baby. Lexi was game to walk with a sprained or broken ankle and a bullet wound."  
"Bullet wound?" Clint asked.  
"I may or may not have accidently shot myself when the Hulk surprised me."  
"Did he hurt you?" Clint asked, anger evident in his voice.  
"Nope. Opposite, actually. I was about to get killed and he shielded me and took the brunt of the hits. The rest hit the roof around us."  
"Huh. Must be smarter than we thought he was."  
"I think he is."  
Clint smiled at his daughter and allowed Natasha to help him up. There was nothing to wrap his knee with in the building, so he'd have to wait until they returned to base to have her wrap it.  
"If I have to pop that back into place later, I'll kill you." Natasha grumbled.  
Clint laughed and kissed her softly, and Lexi pretended to gag.

Natasha smiled and pulled away. "We need to go. Tony was going on and on about something called Shwarma."  
Lexi laughed and Clint rolled his eyes. Natasha made her way back to Lexi and was about to pick her up when Clint stopped her. He easily lifted Lexi into his arms and situated her on his hip.

"Clint."  
"Don't, Nat. I know you're sore too. It's just my knee, I've lifted far heavier things with it out of place."  
"Fine. But if she hurts you, it's your own damn fault."  
"Whatever you say, dear."  
Natasha glared at him. "If you weren't holding her, I'd shoot you." She hissed.  
Clint rolled his eyes again and wrapped his arm around Natasha's shoulders and together they made their way from the building.  
When they exited, the rest of the team was waiting for them.

"Finally!" Tony exclaimed. "I was wondering what you guys were doing."  
"Not my fault, Stark. Birdbrain thought it would be smart to go through a window."  
"Hey! I'm not the one who thought it would be fun to jump onto the back of a Chitauri ship and steer it around before launching myself onto a roof."  
Natasha glared at him, and if looks could kill, Clint would definitely be dead. "Nice job, now she's going to be mad at both of us." Lexi stage whispered in his ear.

Until that moment, the rest of the Avengers hadn't seemed to notice Lexi in Clint's arms. The looks she got when they finally realized she was there were truly funny.  
"Baby spider really did come? I didn't imagine it?" Tony asked.  
"You're pretty good, kid." Steve said.  
"Are warriors typically this small here?" Thor asked.  
"No. She's 11." Natasha replied. "I thought you wanted Shwarma, Stark."  
"Oh, right!" Before he could turn and lead the way though, Lexi's voice stopped him.  
"Call me baby spider one more time, and I end you." Lexi hissed, gun pointed at his head.  
"Geez, Spidey. Your daughter's terrifying."

Natasha rolled her eyes and shoved Stark in the direction he'd been about to walk. The genius sighed, but began walking anyway, and the rest of the team followed. None of them really knew what was going to happen, but they all knew that, as tired as they were, food was a good place to start.

* * *

**And, this chapter's done! I realize that some of this might be slightly out of order, namely the bit with Stark and the nuke. But while I currently have the DVD in my computer and open, I was doing most of this from memory, and when I checked the movie for quotes, and realized it, I didn't want to rearrange anything, so I didn't. For the most part, however, it follows the plot of the movie.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**I'm so sorry, guys! I got distracted and forgot to write another chapter. 70 reviews, wow! Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed this story. **

* * *

The walk to the shwarma place seemed to take forever. Although it might have been because Lexi was finally feeling her injuries, and none of the Avengers, except for Thor and Bruce, were walking anywhere near quickly. When they finally arrived, Tony led them to a table and everyone grabbed a seat. Natasha pulled Lexi onto her lap, allowing Clint to stretch his injured knee behind her. While she rested her head on her mother's shoulder, Lexi looked around. The building seemed to have escape most of the damage, although there was a broken window in the corner.

When the food arrived, everyone dug in, paying little to no attention to the other people at the table. Bruce and Thor were devouring their food, while Tony picked at his, and Steve tried not to fall asleep in his. Lexi was hungry, but couldn't force herself to eat anything, much as she wanted to. More than anything, she wanted to hold her little sister, and convince herself that Ceara was safe.

Natasha wasn't hungry either, but she'd grown proficient at forcing food into her body over the years. Clint on the other hand was shoveling food into his mouth at a nearly inhuman pace. Idly, Lexi wondered if he'd been allowed to eat, but she quickly pushed that thought out to deal with later.

Natasha could sense that something was wrong with her daughter, but without being able to see her face she couldn't know for sure what it was.

"Cad atá cearr, cailín leanbh?" _'What's wrong, Baby Girl?' _Natasha whispered, stroking Lexi's hair.  
"Ní dhéanfaidh aon ní." _'Nothing.' _She whispered back.  
"Lexi, nach bréag do mháthair." _'Lexi, don't lie to your mother.'_ Clint murmured.  
Lexi sighed. "Ba mhaith liom ach a fheiceáil Ceara." _'I just want to see Ceara.'_ She finally whispered.  
Natasha smiled and kissed Lexi's temple. "I know, sweetie. She'll be home in a few days."  
Lexi nodded and went back to picking at her food while Natasha and Clint started a silent conversation.  
"What's wrong, Baby Bird?" Tony asked.

There was a caring tone to his words, but Lexi didn't notice it. Without warning, she pulled out her gun and shot him in the shoulder, where his suit protected him. The noise caused Clint and Natasha to stop their silent conversation and stare at their daughter, while everyone else stared in shock between Lexi and Tony.  
"What the hell!" Tony shrieked, sounding not unlike a little girl.  
When Natasha could tell that Lexi wasn't lowering her gun, she grew concerned. With one look she could tell Lexi wasn't still aiming at Tony because she wanted to scare him, but because she could convince herself that it was safe to let her guard down.

Without a word, Clint removed his leg from Natasha's chair and pulled Lexi onto his lap, with her back to the rest of the group. She stiffened immediately, her trigger finger twitching. Clint began murmuring softly in Russian, but that didn't seem to be helping. In fact, it was making it worse. Lexi's whole body was shaking violently, and she was muttering in Russian, something about one of the men being at the table.  
While the rest of the Avengers were confused about what was going on, Natasha stood quickly and pulled Lexi onto her hip.  
"Tasha, ты хочешь, чтобы взять ее?" _'Tasha, do you want me to take her?'  
_"Нет, это о России." _'No, it's about Russia.'_

Clint nodded and Natasha carried Lexi outside, ignoring the look Tony gave her. Steve, Bruce, and Thor had the manners to pretend that nothing was happening. As Clint looked at the billionaire across from him, he noticed that Tony's looks weren't one of someone trying to pry into another's life, but rather those of someone concerned for their teammate. _I'll tell Tasha that later._ He thought as he watched his wife and daughter leave.

When they got outside, Lexi was still shaking, but she wasn't muttering anymore. Instead, tears had begun falling from her eyes.  
"Oh, Lexi." Natasha said as she set the girl on the ground and knelt to look her in the eyes.  
"I'm sorry, Мама." She hiccupped.  
"Hush, Lexi. It's ok, девочка." _'baby girl.'  
_"I'm sorry. He just looked like him, and I was scared, and I-I…"  
"Don't worry about it, Lexi."  
Lexi nodded and wrapped her arms around Natasha's neck. Natasha shifted so that she was sitting with her back against the wall and pulled Lexi into her lap. They sat together for a moment, Natasha stroking Lexi's hair as she calmed down.

"Who did he look like, Lexi?" Natasha finally whispered.  
"Like the man that went to the house."  
"What?" Natasha asked, worried.  
"In Russia. When Mr. X took me. He was at the house, and he saw me in the car and told people to chase me. Then he was at the airport when he told them to kill me. And Mr. Stark looks like him."  
Natasha was shocked. She knew about the men, Lexi had told her the first night they were reunited, but she'd always assumed that her daughter had gotten past it, or had just forgotten.  
"And then when they took me, I saw him at the facility. He was watching me walk down one of the halls with this _look_ on his face, Мама. It was the only time I was grateful for Walrus guy, because as soon as he noticed, he made me switch places with him, so that the other guy couldn't see me anymore."

As soon as Lexi said this, Natasha realized whom she was talking about. His name was Viktor, and he'd been her trainer when she was younger. He'd also raped her countless times. When she first learned she was pregnant, she'd feared that Viktor was the father.  
"His name was Viktor, Lexi. And he wasn't a nice man. Not anywhere close. He did horrible things to innocent people, because he thought it was fun. Alek never liked him, and wouldn't let any of his trainees be in the same room as him. That's the only reason I was glad Alek became my trainer, right after Viktor had been assigned to me. Ivan didn't even like him, not really. But he couldn't get rid of him because there was too much risk involved. But when I destroyed the facility, he was one of the guards I killed. He's gone, Lexi."

"I know that, rationally, it's not him. But for just a second, Mr. Stark looked like him. I just got scared, and I didn't think. I'm sorry."  
"Don't be sorry. You didn't do any lasting damage. He's got that dammed metal suit to protect him."  
Lexi finally laughed, and Natasha pulled her closer for a second. Together they stood up and after Natasha wiped Lexi's tears away, she carried her daughter back into the restaurant. The group looked up as they reentered, but turned back to their food when they realized who it was. Natasha sat back in her seat with Lexi on her lap and a clear look to Clint to let him know that she'd fill him in later.  
There were a few moments of silence as everyone finished their food. Finally, Lexi broke it.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. You just reminded me of someone I'd seen before and-"  
"Don't worry about it, kid. We've all got our demons, and they all show up at different times. And you can call me Tony. Mr. Stark makes me sound like my father."  
Lexi nodded and smiled slightly. When everyone had finished, Tony placed some money on the table, and everyone trudged outside.

"Um… you guys are all welcome to stay at my tower. There's a little bit of damage, but mist of the residential floors are fairly unscathed."  
Steve accepted quickly, followed by Thor who said he'd stay there until he returned to Asgard. He also added that any time he was on Earth he'd stay at the tower, unless he was with "Lady Jane". Bruce was hesitant, to say the least. Just because the other guy hadn't hurt any of them during the battle didn't mean he wouldn't. Finally, Tony managed to convince him, and he agreed, but promised to leave the first time something went wrong.  
That left Clint and Natasha, and Lexi by extension. They shared a look, both wanting to stay at the tower rather than face the hellicarrier, but neither wanted to spring their other daughter on the group. Tony must have known what they were thinking, because he quickly butted into their silent conversation.

"We have plenty of room for you three, and your other daughter, when she arrives."  
Clint and Natasha turned back to each other, before both turning to look at Lexi, sitting comfortable on Clint's hip.  
"It's up to you, Lex." Clint said.  
"I want to." She said immediately.  
"If they're staying at the tower, I'm not." Bruce said, determined. "I won't risk hurting her or her sister. I know their tough, but I'm not risking that."  
Before anyone could say anything, Lexi had slipped from Clint's grasp and hobbled over to the scientist. He backed away from her, but she persisted, stepping closer to him.  
"I trust you, Bruce. I trust the other guy too. I would have died on that roof without him. Besides, the SHIELD infirmary sucks, and I need someone to set my ankle and make sure my wrist is ok. And my parents have a habit of getting hurt on missions, and none of the SHIELD doctors are competent enough to deal with my parents and their issues."

Natasha and Clint chuckled at Lexi, knowing every word she said was true.  
"I'm not a real doctor, Lexi." Bruce reminded her.  
"I know. But you're still better than the incompetent idiots SHIELD hires."  
Everyone was laughing now, and Bruce decided that seeing Lexi on a regular basis might be fun.

"Fine. But I'm sticking with my earlier promise. The second something happens with the other guy, I'm out."  
"That's fine. Because nothing is going to happen with him." Lexi said confidently.  
With that, she turned back to her parents, and Clint lifted her back to his hip, and Lexi was extremely grateful to be off her ankle again.  
"Well, ok then. Let's go." Tony said.

They followed him through the destroyed city back to his tower. He was right, of course, aside from the damage inflicted by Loki and the Hulk, his tower was relatively unaffected, unlike the rest of the city. They all piled into the elevator, and Tony pushed a button. When they arrived everyone stepped into a very nice room. There were couches and a large TV, along with plush carpet, and Lexi could see a kitchen down the hall.

"Welcome home, Sir. It's nice to see that you're still alive."  
Everyone looked around, confused as to where the voice was coming from. The only people to appear unaffected were Natasha and Tony, since Natasha had gotten used to it while she was Natalie Rushmann.

"I don't recall programming you to be snarky, JARVIS."  
"That was not snark, sir. It was simply a fact."  
"I'm not above selling you for spare parts."  
"My apologies, Sir."  
Everyone was still fairly confused, and Tony smirked slightly.

"Alright, the next floor up is where the extra bedrooms are, you guys can each have one, Lexi you can have your own as well, assuming that your parents are normal and sleep in the same room. This is the living room, you guys can use it whenever you want. There's a kitchen down the hall, I think there's food in it."  
"Indeed there is, sir."  
"Right, so there's food in the kitchen. If you need anything else, just let JARVIS know. He's in all the rooms, so he'll be able to hear you."  
"You have cameras in the bedrooms?" Clint asked, annoyed.  
"Not cameras, although most of the other rooms have those. But there are speakers in each room, which allow JARVIS access to the rooms. Oh, and there's a gym 3 floors down, feel free to use that as well. The tower will be rebuilt soon, and I'm assuming that Fury will want you guys to stay here. So if there's anything in particular that you want on your floor, let JARVIS know, and he'll add it to the plans."

The team just stared at him in shock. Tony chuckled softly and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.  
"Umm… I think that's it. So yeah, next floor up had the bedrooms. JARVIS, am I forgetting anything?"  
Before the AI could respond, the elevator doors burst open, and everyone pointed their weapons at it, except for Natasha and Tony.

As the person stepped off the elevator, they didn't pay the slightest attention to the weapons pointed at them, staring instead at the room in shock.  
"Oh my God! What the hell happened?!" Pepper shrieked, looking around. Looking over the small balcony she could see the area that the Hulk had used to smash Loki into.  
"Hi, Pep." Tony whispered, obviously in terror of her reaction.  
"Tony!" Pepper ran toward him, and he opened his arms, thinking she was going to hug him. Instead she slapped him across the face, and the sound echoed in the room. "That was for going into a portal with a nuclear weapon on your back!" she stepped forward and crashed her lips on his, kissing him for all she was worth. "And that's for calling me before you went into the portal."

As Tony pulled Pepper into his arms, Natasha gestured for Clint to follow her into the elevator, accompanied by Bruce, while Steve and Thor had gone to check out the gym.  
They made it to the floor above and went to pick their rooms. Natasha and Clint chose the one at the end of the hall, and Lexi picked the one across from them, with Bruce at the one closest to the elevator. Natasha told Clint to take a quick nap while she helped Lexi change and took her to see Bruce.

Getting the catsuit off was no small task. Lexi's ankle was extremely swollen and the skintight material wasn't sliding off as easily as it normally would have. They managed to get it off eventually though, and Lexi pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top from a bag that had been mysteriously dropped off, but had held her clothes from the hellicarrier.

After Natasha had changed as well, she carried Lexi to Bruce's room and knocked softly. He opened the door a moment later, and ushered them into his attached bathroom, where it seemed he'd laid out various medical supplies.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" He joked.  
"I don't know. I was just standing on a roof, and suddenly this happened." Lexi joked back.

Bruce chuckled and got to work. He gave Lexi some painkillers and stitched Natasha's forehead while they took effect. When Lexi was sufficiently loopy, Bruce got to work. He carefully removed the bullet she'd shot into her own leg, smiling when she told him how she'd gotten it. He disinfected it heavily, and gave Natasha some antibiotics for Lexi to take for the next couple of days, just to be safe. Then he wrapped her wrist tightly so that she couldn't move it. When he picked up her ankle and started feeling for broken bones, Lexi hissed in pain and made a face, but showed no other signs of being in pain. Bruce wrapped that as tightly as he could and told them both that she'd need to get a cast for it.

"She'll be fine, doctor." Natasha said.  
"I know you think it's nothing, Natasha, but her ankle is broken. If she doesn't have a cast, it can't heal properly, especially if she walks on it."  
"Honestly, doctor, she'll be fine. By morning it'll be mostly swelling."  
"Natasha." He said, not totally understanding.  
"I'm not just saying that. I was injected with a serum that causes me to heal far quicker than normal people, and she inherited that. you were going to recommend 4-6 weeks, right?"  
"Something like that."  
"She'll have full use back in a week. If you don't believe me, we'll come back in the morning, and you can check it again."  
Bruce sighed, but nodded. He knew no one could make the black widow do something she didn't want to do.

Natasha thanked him and carried Lexi to her and Clint's room where she found the man in question standing in the bathroom, staring at his reflection.  
"You're still pretty, Barton." Natasha said, smirking at him in the mirror.  
Lexi watched her parents' interaction from the bed, her ankle propped up on pillows. Already she could feel her bones stitching themselves back together.

Natasha led Clint back to the bed after having him change into a pair of shorts. She made sure his knee was still in place, and strapped it to keep it from moving. When that was done, she stitched the gash on his side before having him lie on his stomach so she could pull the glass shards from his back. When she was done she spread disinfecting cream on the cuts and put gauze over the worst ones. By the time she was done, it was nearly 10:30, and Lexi was trying not to fall asleep.

"Come on, Lexi." Natasha said, picking her up from the bed. Clint followed awkwardly as they entered Lexi's chosen room and tucked her in. Clint started singing to her, but had to stop soon after, memories of what he'd done in the last few days crowding his mind when Lexi shifted and the marks on her neck became more visible.

Natasha started to tell him that it wasn't his fault, but before she got a word out, Lexi shifted and pulled Clint onto her bed and maneuvered herself so that she was resting her had on his chest. She picked up the song where he'd left off, hugging him tightly as she sang. When she was done, Clint kissed her head and left the room, leaving Natasha to finish saying goodnight. After one last kiss, Lexi was alone, and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

_Lexi couldn't breathe. Large hands were on her neck, crushing her windpipe, while she tried talking._

_"Shut up, little girl. You're not worth last words."  
He moved his face slightly, and Lexi was finally able to see who was pinning her down. Her father laughed at her as she struggled, squeezing his hands tighter. But it wasn't her father, not really. Not with those eyes. _

_She begged and pleaded, did everything she could think of until she had no air left, and her vision was going black._

* * *

Lexi sat bolt upright, and looked around. She couldn't tell where she was, and started freaking out until she remembered that she was in one of the bedrooms at Stark Tower. The sheets around her were drenched in her sweat, and Lexi knew there was no way she'd be getting back to sleep.

She carefully stood, smiling as she realized that her ankle was feeling much better. She grabbed a spare blanket from the closet, and carefully made her way to the stairs. She would have used the elevator, but she didn't want to risk waking anybody. She walked down to the living room Tony had shown them the night before and set the blanket on the couch. She made her way to the kitchen and got a glass of water and brought it back with her. She situated her self on the couch with the blanket wrapped tightly around her as she sipped her water. When it was gone, she returned it to the coffee table and sat in silence for a moment.

After 5 minutes though, silence proved too much, providing too many horrible endings to her dream.

"JARVIS?" she whispered.  
"Yes, Miss. Romanoff?"  
"Does Tony have Netflix?"  
"Indeed he does. Would you like me to turn it on for you?"  
"Quietly, please."

The TV flickered to life, and Lexi scrolled through before landing on one of her favorite movies. She clicked play, and smiled as Beauty and the Beast started.

By the middle of the movie, Lexi was thoroughly engrossed, and had managed to lose touch with reality. So when a ding sounded not far off, she snapped back to reality, just in time to point her gun at the man standing in the doorway.

"Whoa, easy, kid. Jut me."  
"Tony?"  
"Yeah."  
Lexi lowered her weapon, clicking the safety on.

"Sorry."  
"Don't worry about it. Awfully late for you to be up, isn't it?" He asked, coming to sit beside her.  
"I guess. I fell asleep, but…"  
"Nightmare?"  
Lexi didn't answer. Somehow it felt wrong revealing that much of herself to him.

"It's ok. I don't like telling people I still have them too."  
Lexi snorted. "No offense, but what's so horrible about your life that would cause nightmares? Money shortage?"  
Tony actually laughed. "No, not that. But just because the public doesn't see everything, doesn't mean it isn't there."  
Now Lexi was confused. "What do you mean?"  
"Sure, my life isn't horrible, at least not now, and maybe it never was, according to some people. But to me, it was pretty bad. I was raised with money, which sounds great, but it wasn't everything it was cracked up to be. I'm sure you've heard of my father, all the articles in the paper or online. Funny thing is, that's pretty much all I knew of him too. Aside from Christmas and my birthday, I hardly saw him. He sent me off to boarding school when I was young, and when I was home, he was always yelling at me for touching his inventions, or else telling me that mine were no good."  
"It must have sucked, but it doesn't sound like something to cause nightmares." She wasn't trying to be bratty, but she had a hard time believing that the billionaire had anything truly scary in his life.

"True. And it's not. But when he died, I got the company. I continued making weapons and selling them, not really caring what they were being used for. And then I took a trip to Afghanistan. I honestly don't remember much of the actual trip. But I became unconscious toward the beginning. When I woke up, I was attached to a car battery that was powering a device keeping shrapnel from penetrating my heart. And then the torture began. Nothing to the scale I'm sure your parents have endured, but it still wasn't pleasant. When I made it out, I managed to make a new device, but that one started killing me, and I had to invent a new element, in my destroyed house after my PA and now girlfriend had left after I destroyed my birthday party. And she owned my company, so there wasn't much I could do. But I also had to deal with someone my father and I both trusted trying to kill me, along with someone who wanted revenge for what my father did to his father. And now I have to worry about Pepper all the time. I'm worried about everything. Worried that the next crazy to come out of the woodwork will be after her to hurt me, and if she gets hurt because of me, I'll never forgive myself. So while my life hasn't been too horrible, there are still things that scare me."  
Lexi sat in silence; taking in everything he'd just told her. She'd known some of it, but not to the extent he'd just told her.  
"Sorry."  
"Don't be. You had a right to ask."  
After a few more minutes, Tony spoke.

"If you don't mind me asking, what have you seen to give you nightmares? You're just a kid."  
"True. Alright, you told me yours, I'll tell you mine."  
"I'd appreciate that."  
Lexi smiled and started talking. "I was born in Russia 11 years ago. My mom was still controlled by the Red Room, and Clint hadn't found her yet. Yes, he's not actually my father, although he adopted me about a year after we came to America. Anyway, my father's name was Alexei. He was a civilian in Russia, and the Red Room decided to play. They programmed my mother to fall in love with him, and they got married. She got pregnant not long after, and surprisingly, the Red Room old her to keep the baby. When I was born, Alexei came to visit my mother and me in the hospital. After the Red Room found out, they ordered one of the other girls to kill him, and she did. But then they ordered my mom to get rid of me, which meant kill me. But she'd seen how Alexei looked at me, and figured she could be happy with me. So she kept me hidden. I stayed with an old lady who lived a few houses down from us. Мама watched over her granddaughter in the Red Room, and the old lady watched over me. One day I wanted to go back to my house to get something, and I convinced the old lady to take me. While we were there, agents from the facility showed up and came into the house. We managed to make it out of the house, but the old lady got shot. Мама saw the blood trail on her way home, and found us in the basement of the lady's house. She told the lady that her granddaughter had been sent on a mission and hadn't reported in, that in all likelihood she was dead. The lady thanked her, and died. Мама and I stayed in the basement for two days before a man came. She told me to go with him, that he would keep me safe, and she'd come find me. We drove by our old house, and I saw the men there. One of them saw me, and started yelling for the others to follow us and take me. When we got to the airport, Mr. X handed me to Logan and told me that he would keep me safe. While Logan was holding me, someone else was making it so that the bullets didn't hit either of us. But I heard one of the men shout for the others to kill me, that the world didn't need another slut. I was two."  
"Geez, kid. That was a rough life."  
"I guess. It got better, once Мама and Clint got together. They got married and then Ceara was born. We were pretty happy. Until I was kidnapped from school, and taken to the Red Room facility in Russia. I was there for 4 days before my mom got me out, along with two other girls. Everyone else died. But even after that we were happy. And then this whole mess happened. Ceara and I were in New Mexico when Loki showed up. I watched as Clint tried to shoot one of his best friends. And then when he attacked the hellicarrier, I was keeping watch in one of his nests, and he saw me. He ended up chasing me along the catwalk where he finally caught up to me. I could tell he was going to kill me, but I could also tell that a part of him didn't want to. He ended up choking me until I was unconscious, before going to try and kill my mom. I guess you know what happened from there."  
"So that's what your nightmare was about? Your father trying to kill you?"  
"Yeah. Except that I know it wasn't him. It was the eyes more than anything that freaked me out."  
Tony sighed, and wrapped his arm around Lexi's shoulders and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder.

"I guess everyone's life is just a little messed up. Some more than others." Tony whispered.  
"I guess." Lexi responded.  
Tony had JARVIS start the movie over, and they watched in silence, unless they were laughing.

* * *

The next morning, Natasha couldn't find Lexi. She wasn't in her room or the bathroom or in the gym. As a last ditch effort, she made her way to the living room. As soon as the doors opened, Natasha smiled.

Lexi and Tony were sitting on the couch. Tony's arm was still wrapped around her shoulders, and her head was resting on his shoulder. She'd heard Lexi whimpering the night before, but just as she'd started to get up, Clint had begun thrashing from a nightmare. By the time she'd calmed him down, there was no noise coming from Lexi's room, so Natasha had figured she'd gone to sleep. Natasha pulled out her phone and snapped a picture before heading to the kitchen. In all honesty, she wasn't concerned that Iron Man was holding her daughter. She knew that if Lexi felt comfortable enough to fall asleep around someone, she trusted them. And until Stark gave her a reason not to trust him, Lexi's trust would be all the convincing Natasha would need.

"JARVIS?" Natasha whispered.  
"Yes, agent Romanoff?"  
"How long have they been on the couch?"  
"Since approximately 1:53 AM. They shared stories of their pasts and the various things that caused nightmares."  
Natasha was slightly surprised that Lexi had told Stark any of their past, but she figured her daughter would want the rest of the team to know.

Smiling, Natasha grabbed a mug and poured some coffee into it and went back to the living room, where Lexi was waking up.  
"Hey, Lexi."  
"Мама?"  
"Did you have a nightmare?"  
"Yeah."  
"I'm sorry. I heard you and was on my way when Clint started thrashing around. When I finally calmed him down, I didn't hear anything and figured you went back to sleep."  
"It's ok, Мама. I watched beauty and the Beast. And Tony and I talked. It was actually kind of nice."

Natasha smiled and pulled Lexi to her feet. Together they returned to the residential floor where they found Bruce waiting for them. He was shocked that Natasha had been right. Overnight, Lexi's ankle had gone form needing a boot to simply needing to not run or jump for 2 weeks, which would probably end up being only a week. Natasha and Lexi returned to Lexi's room, where they both fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the last few days.

Clint came in a few hours later and smiled as they slept, completely nightmare free.

* * *

**There you go! I hope the ending was ok, and that it didn't seem weird or anything.  
I'm considering doing a one-shot week for Clintasha, but to do that, I need 7 or 8 prompts, and I currently have 1 or 2. So leave a review or PM me if you have an idea you want me to write. Even if I don't get to your idea during the one-shot week, if I like it, I most likely write it later. And of course if I use your idea, I'll give you credit for the idea. So let me know of any ideas you have that you want me to write.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	24. Chapter 24

Later that day, Phil called Natasha's cell phone while she, Clint, and Lexi were in the room Clint and Natasha had chosen. Natasha had barely greeted him when Lexi made a mad dash to the phone and ripped it from her mother's grasp.

"Put her on the phone!" She said, excitedly.  
"Lexi? What are you doing? I have important information for your parents."  
"Put. Her. On. The. Phone." Lexi hissed, becoming every bit the mini Natasha she was.

Phil sighed, but judging by the shuffling on the other end, he was handing over the phone.

"Hello?"  
"Ceara!" Lexi squealed.  
"Lexi?"  
"Duh." Lexi laughed. "I miss you."  
"I miss you too. We saw the news, saw you on it too. Phil's mom wanted to know what the hell our parents were thinking."  
"Well, I guess she'll just have to come with you when you guys come back."  
"I've already told her that. And she's agreed."  
"Sweet! Do you know when you're coming home?"  
"Phil says in a couple days. We're going to the Space Needle while we're here."  
"You guys are going to Washington without me?"  
"You saved New York without us. Stasia's annoyed at you for that."  
"But seriously? Phil's punishing me, isn't he? He knows how much I want to see that."  
"He said we can Skype you for part of it."  
"Fine."  
"Don't blame me."  
"I never could, Ky. Put Phil back on. Мама's giving me the stink eye for taking the phone."  
"I love you, Lex."  
"Love you too, Ky."

Lexi turned and handed the phone back to her mother, smiling her best innocent smile. As Natasha began talking, Lexi left the bedroom and decided to explore a bit. Her first stop was the gym Tony had mentioned.

When she arrived, she found Steve in the corner, hitting a punching bag. There was no gymnastics equipment, but that didn't really surprise Lexi. Besides, she wasn't allowed to workout for a while still.

"I hope you're not thinking about doing anything." Steve's voice called to her, breaking her from her thoughts.  
"Not allowed." She responded.  
Steve nodded and went back to hitting the bag.  
"You're a good leader." Lexi said suddenly. "I can see why Phil looks up to you so much."  
"Thanks. You're not to bad yourself. You can definitely fight, and you know when to listen."  
Lexi just shrugged. "My parents taught me."  
"They did?"  
"Nearly everyday since Мама and I came from Russia."  
"What do you mean? I knew she was from Russia, but you too?"  
"Oh, I guess you wouldn't know that. Yeah, Мама and I lived in Russia until I was two, when Clint was sent to kill her. He brought her in, and me by extension. After she was cleared they were made partners to punish him, but it worked out in the end. He adopted me not long after that. Then they had Ceara."  
"She's your sister?"  
"Half sister, yes."  
"Because Clint's not your father."  
"Not biologically."  
"Does this happen frequently, nowadays?"  
"I don't know about 'frequently' but it's certainly more often than it was in the 40's."  
"You said you lived in Russia?"  
"Lived is a mater of perspective. I tend to think of it more now as 'existed'. Мама was part of the Red Room. They wanted her to kill me, but she changed her mind. They found out, and she realized we had to leave."  
"That's it?"  
"All that matters."  
"What about your dad? I can't imagine that he'd be ok with her just leaving with you."  
"That would imply that he was alive when we left."  
"He wasn't?"  
"Nope. The Red Room had him killed the day after I was born, right before telling Мама to get rid of me. She was pissed, because she'd been planning on getting us out of Russia and having him raise me. He was a civilian though, which made him expendable to them."  
"That's awful."  
Lexi shrugged. "I guess. She didn't love him, aside from what she was programmed to."  
"It's not that simple."  
"Typically, no it's not. But that's literally what happened. I don't know much because she won't tell me, but I know that she'd be sent to a lab where they'd make new memories and replace her old ones with them, doing whatever they had to for her to complete the job. It got to the point where they could tell her exactly what to do."  
"That's barbaric."  
"That's Russia's underground for you."  
"And it doesn't bother you? To know that your mother was essentially tortured?"  
"No. I mean it does, but she's endured far worse torture than getting new memories. Every one of her scars is from a mission gone wrong or a torture session. It's just the life she was given. I can't change it, so it's not worth it to waste time crying over it or trying to change it."  
"You're smart, Lexi."  
"Thanks."  
Steve nodded to her once more, and went back to the bag. Lexi watched for a moment more, but when Steve turned to ask another question, she was gone.

* * *

She made her way through the tower, ending in the common area's kitchen. Thor was in there, rooting through the fridge.

"Hi."  
"Ah, 'tis the young warrior."  
"My name's Lexi. And I'm hardly a warrior."  
"Nonsense. You fought bravely for your world. I have a warrior friend, a few actually, but one in particular that would enjoy meeting you. Sif is her name, one of the finest warriors Asgard has to offer."  
"Umm… ok?"  
Thor laughed. "Tell me about yourself, Lexi."  
"Well, I'm 11."  
"So you are young."  
"I guess. I'm in 6th grade."  
"I don't know what that means."  
"School. My favorite color is blue."  
"I much prefer red."  
"I see that. My favorite animal is a panda."  
"What is that? It sounds like a disease."  
"It's not. It's a bear, very cute."  
"Bears are not meant to be played with."  
"I know that. you don't actually play with them. You just watch them. They sit and eat bamboo all day, unless they're rolling around."  
"What's bamboo?"  
"It's a plant."  
"Bears don't eat plants. They eat meat."  
"Usually, but pandas are different kinds of bears."  
"Midgard has stragne animals."  
"I'm sure I'd say the same thing about some of your animals." Lexi shot back.

Thor considered her comment a moment before shrugging and nodding his agreement. He enjoyed speaking with the little girl. She was intelligent beyond what he thought she should be, and he could sense a maturity that shouldn't have been present this early in her life. Something had happened to this little one, or more likely, many somethings, and she'd been forced to grow up quickly.

"I think we could be great friends, Lexi."  
"I think so too."  
Lexi gave Thor a smile before leaving.

* * *

She decided to find Bruce, having determined that he was her favorite team member, aside from her parents. JARVIS told her he was in the lab, and directed her how to get there.

"Hi, Bruce."  
"Hey, Lex. How's your ankle?"  
"I can barely feel it."  
"Are you lying to me?"  
"Slightly." Lexi admitted, laughing softly.  
"And your wrist?"  
"Hurts more than my ankle."  
"That's odd."  
"Not really. It's just really stiff, and my ankle's not."  
Bruce shrugged in acceptance of her answer.

"Bruce?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Thank you." Lexi whispered.

Bruce looked up from the object he was holding. It was far more complicated than Lexi could fathom, and she knew that just looking at it would give her a head ache.

"For what?"  
"For helping me. Both with my ankle, and for the other guy too."  
"Lexi…" Bruce started.  
"I mean it, Bruce. I know you think he's some kind of monster, but I promise you he's not. Do you remember one of my first questions to you?"  
"Vaguely."  
"When I asked if you were a hero?"  
"I told you I'm not, and I stand by that."  
"But you are. I told you then SHIELD wouldn't let you live if you weren't, and they certainly wouldn't let you work on their ship."  
"I stand by what I said, Lexi."  
"That's nice. I stand by what I said. I told you that Мама says she's not a hero because of the bad things she's done, but she's my hero because she loves me and my sister and Clint. And then I told you that I'm sure you're someone's hero."  
"I remember."  
"Well, you're my hero. And so is the other guy. I'd be dead without both of you. So for as much as you hate him, I love him. and I love you for creating him, even if it was an accident you'd rather not reciprocate. So I'll keep loving both of you guys until you learn to love the other guy, and yourself."  
Before Bruce could respond, Lexi left, allowing him to think over what she'd said.

* * *

She wandered through the tower, ending up on a floor in the middle. There was a large window across from her, complete with a window seat. She made her way over and curled up, looking onto the city below.

Hours passed, but Lexi couldn't say how many. After the first one though, she'd had JARVIS tell her parents that she was alive, and needed to think, and told him to tell one of them if she suddenly wasn't alive.

It began to darken outside, and Lexi watched as the lights of the city became visible. New York was always her favorite at night, when the lights were on, and there was just enough natural light left to make it look slightly surreal.

She was lost it her thoughts when the elevator dinged, and a woman stepped out. When Lexi heard her heels on the floor, she turned sharply, surprised by the sudden arrival.

Just as Lexi turned, the woman looked up, shocked to see a little girl before her.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Are you lost?"  
"No. I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have come down this far, but Tony said I was free to explore. I thought all the company floors ended two floors down, and I was doing my best to stay out of peoples' ways."  
"You're Lexi, aren't you?"  
"Who are you?"  
"Smart answer. I'm Pepper. Tony told me that Clint and Natasha had kids, and that one of them was here. I kind of remember seeing you yesterday. But I was more focused on Tony."  
"I remember."  
Pepper had finally made it to Lexi's side and sat down at the other end of the seat. Lexi watched her for a moment before turning her attention back outside.

"My mom worked for you."  
"She did?"  
"Well, not really. She was Natalie Rushman then."  
"Ah, I remember." Pepper's tone took on a new quality, almost like she wasn't particularly fond of Natasha.

"Sorry." Lexi mumbled.  
Pepper sighed. "Don't worry about it. I know she was following orders."  
"She was. But she told me that you were the only thing she looked forward to. Because you were the only one brave enough to stand up to him."  
"Really? She said that?"  
"Yeah. She's always admired strong women, and she's raised my sister and I to be strong ourselves."  
"You have a sister?"  
"Half."  
"Huh?"  
Lexi sighed. She knew that everyone deserved to know, but telling them individually was getting annoying. And she hadn't even tried telling Thor, not knowing how his world would view something like that.

But something about Pepper told her that she could be trusted. So Lexi took a deep breath and began her story.

"I was born in Russia 11 years ago. My father was murdered the day after I was born by the Red Room. Мама started out as one of their agents when she was 5, after they'd killed her parents. They raised her to be perfect. I won't tell you much about what they did to her, it's her story to tell. But when they found out she was pregnant with me, they wanted her to keep me, so she did. My father was a civilian she'd been programmed to fall in love with, so she did. After I was born, he found us even though she'd tried to cut all ties with him, for his safety more than anything else. According to her, he was the happiest man she'd ever seen when he held me. In that moment, she realized that she had a shot at a normal life. But that night, he was stabbed to death, and the next day, the Red Room told her to get rid of me. She tried to find him, which was when she found out that he'd been killed. That was the last straw. She hid me in our home for a short while, until one of the old ladies who lived by us had her granddaughter taken by the Red Room. Мама said she'd take care of the granddaughter if the old lady took care of me. It worked for two years until they found out that I wasn't dead like they'd intended. They shot the old lady as we were running from them, and she died that night. Мама and I spent the next two days in her basement until Charles came for me. I went with him, and a few days later, she came to pick me up, and Clint was with her. She was cleared a few months later and she and Clint became partners. He adopted me, and then they had my sister, Ceara."  
"That's awful. At least you got a happy ending."  
Lexi shrugged, her attempt to stifle a snort. "I guess."  
When she turned to look out the window again, Pepper saw the marks on her throat.  
"Oh my god! Lexi what happened?!"

Lexi was confused for a moment before she realized what Pepper was talking about.  
"It's nothing." She mumbled, trying to cover it up.  
Pepper grabbed her hand and leaned closer to look at Lexi's neck.

"That's not nothing. That looks like a handprint."  
"It is."  
"Did someone try to choke you?"  
"No."  
"Then what is it? Because it looks like someone tried to choke you."  
"They didn't try. They succeeded."  
"Lexi! Do your parents know?"  
"Yeah."  
"What happened?"  
"Nothing."  
"Lexi, did Clint do this? What did you tell your mother? Surely she wouldn't allow him near you if she knew."  
"She does know."  
"He tried to kill you and she doesn't care?" Pepper was trying to piece it together. She couldn't imagine a parent knowingly letting their kid be around someone who tried to kill them."  
"Of course she cares, but we both know he didn't mean it."  
"It looks like he did."  
"It wasn't him." Pepper finally registered the look on Lexi's face, and the tone of her words. She was pleading with Pepper. Pleading for her to listen.  
"Start from the beginning."  
"Loki started in New Mexico. He did something funny to Clint, and it screwed with his brain so that he'd do whatever Loki wanted. When he attacked the hellicarrier, I was in the nest across from him, and he saw me. That was actually my fault."  
"Lexi, you can't blame yourself."  
"Yes I can, because it was faulty tactical training. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I stood up before making sure it was clear. He started chasing me through the catwalks, and he eventually caught up with me. We fought a little, and I tried getting through to him, it was working, until it wasn't. Then I was on my back, and he had a knife to my throat. I started humming this song he sings to me in a last ditch attempt, and it worked. He got control of his brain long enough to realize that the thing in his head wouldn't leave me alone until I was dead, so he decided to trick it. He cut off my oxygen supply so that I blacked out and looked dead. He was a little too good at it and I nearly died, but then I remembered that my mom would be pissed if I died like that. It also didn't hurt that her emotions got the best of her and she slapped me for the first time. That's what really did it."  
"That's horrifying, Lexi."  
"I know, but it wasn't him, honestly."  
"How do you know?"  
"Because Clint would die for me. He would do anything if it meant that I had even a little better shot of surviving. I trust him."  
Pepper sighed. She wasn't totally convinced, but she figured Lexi knew Clint better than she did.

"It's fine, Pepper, I promise. Please don't bring it up, he already hates himself enough as it is."  
"Ok."  
"Thank you."  
They fell into silence for a while before Pepper stood up.

"I'm going to the kitchen to find food, you want to come?"  
"Sure."  
Lexi stood and followed Pepper back to the elevator and up to the kitchen. Her parents were in there, along with Steve and Thor.

"Hey, Lex." Clint said, smiling at her.  
"Hi. You get all the info you need?"  
"Yup. They'll be here in a few days."  
"All of them?"  
"All of them."  
Lexi smiled as she climbed onto Clint's lap and rested her head on his shoulder. Clint kissed her temple and stroked her hair. Pepper turned and caught sight of the two of them, and realized that what Lexi said had been true. She trusted him with every fiber of her being, and it comforted Pepper to know that the little girl knew how to deal with her life.

The little family left the kitchen soon after and went back to their rooms. Natasha managed to find one of their favorite games in her duffle bag and after much discussion decided to play it in the living room next to the kitchen. When they entered, there was no one else, but after 10 minutes everyone except Tony was in the room. Natasha, Clint, and Lexi were laughing as they played, while everyone else smiled as they watched and tried to figure out the complicated adjustments to the rules they'd come up with. After two hours, they finally decided to go to bed. Clint managed to get through the whole song that night, and after a kiss from both her parents, Lexi fell soundly asleep.

Until a nightmare woke her up a few hours later. Rather than wake her parents, Lexi went back to the living room, where she found Tony waiting on the couch for her, with Beauty and the Beast paused on the TV.

"How'd you know?" Lexi asked as she sat down.  
"After you told me what your dream was about, I figured it wasn't going to go away easily, and I had one of my own. So I had JARVIS tell me if you woke from what appeared to be a nightmare."  
"Won't Pepper be annoyed?"  
"Nah, when she's asleep, it'll take an assault team to wake her up."  
Lexi chuckled and let Tony wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"I figured we could help each other deal with the nightmares, since you're an adult trapped in a kid's body, and I'm a kid trapped in an adult's body."  
Lexi laughed as JARVIS started the movie. Before it was halfway done, they were both asleep.

This was definitely something she could get used to.

* * *

**There you go! I know not much happens, but this was just focused on Lexi meeting the rest of the team. I wanted her to be very mature, because given the things she's been through, I think it's stupid of her not to be. And just to clarify, the team doesn't know that Clint and Natasha are married. Yet. They will soon, though.**

**I'm still trying to do a one-shot week for Clintasha. It'll most likely start on Sunday, and I'm thinking of doing a new Story everyday, and on the last day, I'll post a special story. So if you guys have any prompts you want me to write, please let me know. There are a lot of things I want to write, but they're all longer than one-shots. I have a few ideas, but more ideas are always welcome, so let me know your ideas.**

**Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry it's been so long! I was doing a bunch of one-shots, but those are finished now. So I'm back to updating this. Hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

Lexi was sick and tired of getting poked awake. Why couldn't people just understand that she wanted to sleep as long as possible?  
And then she remembered that there was only one person who ever poked her to wake her up.

Lexi's eyes flew open and she found herself staring into her sister's eyes.

"Ky!" she exclaimed gleefully.  
"Hi, Lexi."  
Lexi sat upright and pulled her sister in for a hug. "I missed you." Lexi whispered.  
"I missed you too, Lex."  
They pulled apart, and Ceara finally saw the marks on Lexi's neck.

"Lexi? What happened?"  
"It's fine, Ky."  
"Why are you lying to me?" Ceara whispered.  
"It's not a lie. They don't hurt, so it's fine."  
"Папа did that when he was possessed, didn't he?" Ceara asked, eyes boring into Lexi's.  
"How do you know about that?"  
"Phil told me. I'm not a little girl anymore."  
"You're 6, Ky."  
"So? By the time you were my age, you'd been basically sentenced to death, hidden, nearly killed multiple times, kidnapped, and nearly killed again."  
"I know."  
"So why do you insist on treating me like I can't handle it?"  
"Because you shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have had to live through this, but I did. Why would I want to force the same on you."  
Ceara stared at her sister for a while, thinking about what to say. "I get it, Lexi. But I'm not going to break. I can handle stuff too."  
Lexi nodded, and the conversation ended there.  
"Are you all back?" Lexi finally asked.  
"Yeah."  
Lexi smiled and grabbed Ceara's hand, pulling her sister out of the room. They practically ran down the hall and down the stairs to the living room.

"Stasia!" Lexi shrieked as she saw her best friend sitting on the couch.  
Stasia stood and ran toward Lexi, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.  
"I thought you were going to get yourself killed!" Stasia exclaimed.  
"Ye of little faith." Lexi replied, smirking. She felt another pair of arms twine around her waist and when she turned her head, she saw Ali looking up at her.  
"Hey, buddy." Lexi said, smiling.  
"Hey. Nana's mad at you. She thought you were going to die."  
"Is she here?"  
Ali shook her head. "Hotel. Daddy wanted to talk to Fury, so he dropped us off here. Mommy's with Nana at the hotel."

Lexi nodded and led the girls to the kitchen.  
"Good morning, Miss. Romanoff. There are more pop tarts in the cupboard, I would advise taking your share before Thor discovers them." JARVIS said.  
Lexi watched as the other three girls looked around, trying to figure out who was talking. And Lexi definitely didn't miss the way Stasia tensed and moved closer to her sister, protecting her from the unknown threat.

"It's ok, guys. It's just JARVIS."  
"JARVIS?" Ceara asked.  
"He's Tony's AI. Artificial Intelligence."

They relaxed after that, and started eating. 10 minutes later they were sitting at the island talking. The girls hadn't actually been to the space needle, due in large part to Maria's mom wanting to yell at Lexi for being reckless.

There was a noise at the door, and Lexi turned to find Bruce and Tony walking in, engrossed with and obscure contraption and a tablet respectively.  
"Hi Bruce, Tony." Lexi said calmly, smiling when Tony lightly tugged one of her curls.  
At the sound of her voice, Bruce looked up and froze.  
"Tony?"  
"Hmm?" Tony replied, still looking at his tablet.  
"Tony, look around you."  
Tony complied and froze mid-step.  
"Bruce?"  
"Tony, there are children in your kitchen." Bruce said, caught between confusion and slight fear.  
"I see that, Bruce." Tony said, equally confused.  
"Tony, why are there children in your kitchen?"  
"Umm… I don't know. Lex, why are there children in my kitchen?" He asked.  
Lexi laughed. "Calm down, guys. This is my sister, Ceara, and our best friends, Stasia and Ali."  
"That explains why one extra person is in my kitchen. Why are there two others?"  
"They're Phil and Maria's daughters. Their parents are busy, so they came here when Phil dropped off Ky."  
"Agent has kids? Wait, Agent is _married?"  
_"_Phil _is married, and yes, he has kids."  
Tony shook himself and turned back to Lexi. "Ok. Umm… what am I supposed to do with them?"  
"Nothing, Tony. I'm going to show them around."  
"Ok. Remember, the lab-"  
"Is off-limits. I know."  
Tony nodded and made his way out. "You'll need to tell Pepper." He called  
"I already had JARVIS notify her." Lexi called back.

Bruce continued to stare, and Lexi finally figured out what was wrong.  
"Bruce, it's fine. Stasia and Ali won't be living here. I promise it'll be fine."  
Bruce continued to stare at Lexi. Finally he just nodded and left the room.  
"Is he ok?" Stasia asked.  
"Yeah. He jus doesn't trust himself."

Before anyone could say anything else, Steve and Thor entered the kitchen. They were also surprised by the new additions, but after introductions were made, they continued on their way to the breakfast food.

"Thor, There's more pop tarts." Lexi called, throwing a box to him. "I already grabbed my share, so the rest are for you. Just don't eat them all today."  
Thor nodded and ripped open a package.

They sat in amicable silence, trading questions every so often, until Natasha and Clint entered. Both Stasia and Natasha noticed how Lexi stiffened slightly when Clint walked in, but a moment later, she was back to her normal self.

Natasha pulled Ceara into a hug before passing her to Clint so she could hug Stasia and Ali. When she was done, she made her way to Lexi and traced the marks on her neck.  
"They're fading." She said simply.  
"I knew they would." Lexi responded.  
Natasha nodded and kissed her head before getting coffee for her and Clint.  
Lexi caught Stasia's eye and shook her head slightly. _I'll tell you later.  
_Stasia nodded once, and turned back to Clint, telling him everything they'd been doing with Maria's mom.  
"When's she coming?" Clint asked.

"Well, she wants to yell at Lexi, so I'd assume sometime today. Mom's with her, so she'll be coming by as well."  
Clint nodded, and the girls left the kitchen. They ended up in Lexi's room, talking about their upcoming plans. Around lunch, JARVIS interrupted them to let them know lunch was ready in the main kitchen.

Just as they entered, a new voice started yelling at Lexi.

"Alexis Romanoff! What on earth were you thinking? I'd blame your parents, but we both know that they can't control you when you want to do something. So, young lady, what do you have to say for yourself? Why on God's green Earth did you feel the need to go and almost get blown up by a bunch of aliens?"  
Lexi blushed and looked at the floor. Her parents were smiling, along with Ceara, Stasia, Ali, and Maria. Steve, Thor, Bruce, and Tony looked shocked at the outburst.

Tony was a second away from commenting in Lexi's defense when the lady advanced and pulled Lexi into her arms.

"Don't scare me like that ever again." She whispered in Lexi's ear.  
"Sorry, Nana." Lexi whispered back, hugging her tightly.  
Edith Hill kissed Lexi's cheek and handed her a plate with a ton of food on it.  
"Eat. You're far too skinny. She's not in Russia anymore, Natasha. You can feed her."  
While everyone who'd just met Maria's mother was shocked and confused, Lexi and her family was smiling.

"I feed her constantly, Edith. She eats nearly as much as a football player."  
"Well, then she needs to eat as much as a football player. Lexi, you're not allowed to leave the table until you've gained 2 pounds."  
"But, Nana." Lexi whined.  
"I won't hear it." She cut in with a smile on her face.

Lexi followed her to the table and began eating. She allowed her mind to wander to the activities they'd be able to do together. So when Clint stood up to leave and start training, Lexi didn't notice until he kissed the top of her head. When she felt his hand on her shoulder, Lexi froze. And when the pressure increased slightly as he leaned in to kiss her, Lexi flinched out from under his hands. While the action could be seen as shock because she wasn't paying attention, the whimper of fear couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

Clint left the room in a hurry, and after an apologetic look from Ceara, she followed him. Everyone left at the table stared at Lexi as she tried to focus on eating. If she'd been able to deny it before, she couldn't anymore.

Lexi was terrified of her father.  
"Lexi." Stasia whispered.  
"No." She answered.  
"Lexi, please. Just talk to me." Stasia continued to whisper, ensuring that only Natasha and Maria could hear their conversation.  
"Anastasia, stop it!" Lexi exclaimed. "You can't do that! I've known you for five _years_! And never once in that time have I asked you _anything_ about what the Red Room did to you. I knew you needed your space, and I gave it to you. Can't you just do the same? It's been less than two weeks since my _dad_ tried to _kill _me! Why can't you leave me alone to work through it?"

When she finished speaking, Lexi stood from the table and bolted from the room. It wasn't until she was halfway down the hall that she realized she'd yelled at her best friend, and the rest of the team had heard everything she'd said.  
_Fuck_. She thought.

* * *

Back in the kitchen, everyone looked at Lexi's empty place. Stasia looked like she was about to start crying, so Maria pulled her into her lap.

"Stasia-" She began.  
"It's ok, mom. She's right. She never made me talk about the Red Room and what they did, and she was the only one."  
Maria nodded and kissed her head. Natasha kept staring at Lexi's place, not moving or talking.

"Tasha?" Ali asked softly.  
"600 more seconds, Ali. Then I'll go talk to her."  
Ali nodded, and lunch continued in silence, until something hit Steve.

"The Red Room? Isn't that the organization that Natasha used to be a part of?"  
Everyone at Natasha's end of the table froze. She slowly looked at Stasia and after a few seconds, Natasha nodded and began talking.

"Yes. I was recruited at a very young age, after they killed my parents. I had Lexi, and then I managed to get out, thanks to Clint. After Ky was born, Lexi was taken by the Red Room, and when I went to get her back, I found her talking to Stasia. I got them out, and went inside to kill Ivan. When I was on my way back out, I noticed that there was no noise, not even the sounds of people breathing. I checked every bedroom, and found all the kids dead. I got to Ali's room, and found that she was the only one still alive. I took her with me, and they've never been back to Russia."  
With that, Natasha stood up and left the room.

As she walked out of the tower, she knew that there was only one place Lexi would have gone, since she wouldn't have felt safe in the tower.

* * *

20 minutes, later, Natasha was walking through the front door of their house. They hadn't moved anything back in yet, so it was pretty bare. But Natasha didn't pay any mind as she walked down the hall toward Lexi's bedroom. Sure enough, she found her daughter laying on her bed, curled into a ball, shaking all over.

"Oh, Lexi."  
"Please go away."  
Natasha sighed and made her way to the bed. She lay down next to Lexi and pulled her daughter into her arms. Lexi stiffened for a moment, before relaxing into Natasha's arms.

"I'm so sorry, Lexi."  
"It's not your fault."  
"Yes it is. You're hurting, and I didn't see it."  
"I'm fine."  
"No you're not. I know you want to be, but you're not."  
"Yes I am."  
"Lexi, sweetie, you get tense as soon as he walks into the room."  
"Why?" Lexi asked, fear in her voice. "I still love him, and I still trust him."  
"I know. But your body doesn't. Because no matter how hard you try, you're still scared of what he did to you. And honestly, I'd be worried if you weren't scared."  
"But I don't want to be scared. SHIELD agents can't be scared."  
"That's not true. I get scared whenever I have to leave. The trick is to convince yourself that everything will be ok. You need to give yourself a reason to not let the fear take over."  
"How?"  
"I think I have an idea."  
"What?"  
"We're going to the tower, and you're going to pack some stuff. You and I are taking a trip."  
"We are?"  
"Yeah. We're going to Russia."  
"What? No. Мама, please no."  
"We are, Lexi. You and I are going to Russia. We're going to visit our old house, and the old lady's house. We'll stay there as long as we need to for you to see that those demons are trapped in Russia, and they can't get out. And when we get back, we'll work on your demons here."  
Lexi sighed, but allowed her mother to pick her up. Natasha carried her from the room and out the front door. She was surprised to see Maria waiting in a car for them, ready to take them back to the tower. When they arrived back to the tower, Natasha went to find Clint to tell him what she and Lexi were doing, and Lexi went to find Stasia.

She finally found all three girls in Ceara's new room.

"Hi." Lexi whispered from the doorway.  
"Hi." Stasia answered.  
"Stasia, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve to be yelled at when you were just trying to help."  
"No, I did deserve it. You were right, you never pushed me to talk about it, and I should have let you deal with it on your own."  
Lexi nodded her acceptance, and the discussion was done. She sat on the floor next to her best friends and told them about Natasha's plan.

"Is it safe?" Ceara asked.  
"I'm sure I'll be fine, Ky. Мама will be with me. Just make sure you take care of Папа, ok?"  
"I will."  
"Miss. Romanoff, your mother has asked me to tell you to get your things packed. You'll be leaving in an hour." JARVIS announced.  
"Thanks, JARVIS." Lexi said as she stood up. She made her way to her bedroom and started packing her clothes, all of which had finally arrived at the Tower. When she was done, she met her mother in the living room, and was surprised to find the rest of the team waiting for her.

She hugged them all, cracking jokes where she could. She finally went over to Clint to hug him. He'd been standing in the corner the whole time. When Lexi hugged him, Clint shifted to lift her off the ground.

"I love you, Lexi. I'm so sorry."  
"Is breá liom tú, Daidí. Ní le do thoil leithscéal a ghabháil, bhí aon cheann de sé do locht." _'I love you, Daddy. Please don't apologise, none of it was your fault.'_

Clint nodded and held Lexi tighter for a second before setting her back on the ground.

Together, Natasha and Lexi entered the elevator, and made their way to the hellicarrier, where they'd get on a jet and fly to Russia, where Lexi could finally start fighting her demons.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it. I know it's kind of heavy, but I promise it'll get back to some fluffiness soon!  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry I haven't updated! I really didn't want this to be super cheesy or anything, so I spent a lot of time editing it. Hope you like it!**

* * *

"What do you see, Lexi?" Natasha asked, her hand resting firmly on Lexi's shoulder.  
"Nothing." Lexi whispered.

It was true; their old house was gone. Only the ashes of the fire Natasha had started remained.  
"I burned it." Natasha said.  
"What?" Lexi asked. She'd just realized that her mother hadn't told her about what happened between Lexi leaving Russia, and Natasha picking her up a few days later. "What happened after I left, Мама?"

Natasha sighed as she sat on what used to be their front lawn. She tugged Lexi's arm lightly and her daughter followed suit, leaning into her mother's embrace.  
"After Charles took you, I went on a mission for the Red Room. I'd been thinking of defecting ever since you'd been born, and after I sent you away, I decided to go on one last mission.

"I'd taken out the guards and was about to eliminate my target, when I heard a voice behind me."  
"Who was it?" Lexi asked.  
"I turned around and the only thing I was able to see was a bow with an arrow trained on my chest."  
"Clint? I knew he's the one who took you from Russia, but I thought he was long-range."  
"He is. But I guess he decided to get up close and personal. He told me he was sent to kill me, and as I closed my eyes to process that information, your face popped into my mind. I knew that if he killed me, he'd never find out about you, and you'd be safe with Charles."  
"But he didn't kill you." Lexi stated.  
"No he didn't. He said he had been given orders to, but that his orders were wrong. He wanted me to come with him. It was strange, hearing someone say that their orders were wrong; even if I didn't agree with the Red Room, I did what I was told. Most of the time. But he said that if I came with him, I could start over. It didn't take long to decide, honestly. At the time I only agreed because I knew it might help you.  
"We were on our way to meet his handler-"  
"Phil?" Lexi cut in.  
"Yes, Phil. Anyways, we were on our way when I realized that I needed to get some things from the house. He agreed and I led him here. He stayed outside while I went inside and grabbed some of our stuff. I took all the pictures, your stuffed animals, you favorite outfits, and some extra clothes for myself. When I was done, I went to the side of the house a pushed a button I'd had installed after I moved in. the house went up in flames, and I could tell Clint was shocked. I stayed and made sure that the fire went far enough that they wouldn't be able to salvage anything; as soon as I was sure it was enough, I turned and walked away, knowing turning around would be too painful.  
"Your demons that lived in the house are gone, Lexi. They won't haunt you anymore." Natasha whispered, pressing a kiss to her daughter's head.

Lexi nodded and the two of them sat there for a bit longer.  
_Widow, time to leave. We've got people watching you two. _Phil's voice sounded in her ear.  
"Let's go, Lexi. Phil's anxious."

Lexi smiled and nodded, standing up and holding onto her mother's hand. Phil was always anxious when it came to the two of them. It was the reason he'd demanded to go with them. He'd told Natasha that if he or Clint wasn't with them, they weren't allowed to leave the country. Natasha had grumbled, but in the end allowed it, so long as he promised to give the two of them their space.

They strolled along the streets, chatting about nothing in particular in every language Lexi knew. After an hour, they arrived at an open field, and it took a moment before Lexi realized where they were.

"Мама?" She asked.  
"When you were taken, it was the most scared I've ever been. I realized that while I'd tried, I hadn't been able to keep the people who destroyed my life from hurting you. I've never felt like such a failure."  
"But it wasn't your fault, Мама."  
"I know you think that, Lexi, but it was. Before I left, I hadn't made sure they couldn't get to you, so I took care of that when I brought you home.  
"After I sent you and Stasia to find Phil, I went in. I knew exactly where Ivan would be, and I knew exactly how many guards he'd have."  
"How?"  
"When a man takes you away from the fire that killed your parents and raised you as his own until he trained you to be a killer, you learn things about him." Natasha replied, hatred in her voice.  
"Sorry." Lexi whispered.  
"Don't be. It's not your fault, and you can't do anything to change it. It happened, and my life went on."

Lexi nodded, and Natasha continued while they walked closer to the remnants of the facility.  
"The guards were easy enough to take down, both Alek and Viktor were there, so they're gone. When I entered, Ivan had been expecting me.  
"He'd told me once that if I ever outsmarted him, I was allowed to kill him, and he would put up a fight. The day he killed Alexi was the day I decided to start trying to outsmart him. After making sure he was dead, I made my way out.  
"It was then that I realized that it was too quiet, even for the Red Room. I hurried to the bedrooms, and that's when I saw that everyone was dead. I went into every room, and I felt my heart break every time I realized another kid was dead. Ali's room was the last one I entered. She was lying on the bed, not moving and breathing quietly. I thought she was dead too, and that killed me a little more, because I could tell she wasn't much older than Ceara. Just as I was about to walk away, I heard her cough and roll over. Her eyes met mine, and I've never heard someone saying my codename with such affection. She told me her name and smiled when I shortened it. I still think that's part of the reason she came with me. I carried her from the room, glad I'd managed to save at least one other person. When we got out side, I set her on the ground and pulled grenades out of my belt. I'd thrown a lighter into the file room and knew that it was being destroyed, and after throwing grenades into both levels, I grabbed Ali and started running, trying not to smile too much as I heard the facility explode."

Lexi smiled at the end of Natasha's story, remembering the relief she'd felt when she'd seen her mother again.  
"The Red Room is gone, Lexi. SHIELD made sure of it. They can't hurt you anymore." Natasha said, hugging Lexi tightly.  
"Мама?" Lexi said as they were walking away.  
"Yes?"  
"Can we go home now?"  
"Of course. Russia can't hurt us anymore."

Lexi nodded before running to Phil where he was waiting at a restaurant for them.  
"Hey, Lex." He said as he hugged her. "You ready to go home?"  
"Yes!"  
Phil chuckled as he looked at Natasha. He could tell with one look that she was ready to go home as well. A week away from her family was far too long, and he could see she was worried.

* * *

As Natasha and Lexi pulled into the garage at the Tower, Lexi turned to her mother.  
"Мама?"  
"What?"  
"Can I talk to Clint when we get upstairs? Alone?"  
Natasha gave Lexi a look, but nodded nonetheless. "Ok."  
Lexi smiled at Natasha. "Thanks."

Together they entered the elevator and made their way up to the common floor where they knew everyone would be waiting. As soon as the doors opened, Lexi ran to Stasia and threw her arms around her best friend.

"Hi, Lexi." Stasia said, slightly confused.  
"Hi."  
"You ok?" Stasia asked.  
"Better." Lexi said as she finally released her friend and started hugging everyone else, happy to finally be home.  
She could tell Clint was hesitant to be near her, so Lexi decided to be the bolder of the two and threw her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could.

"Chaill mé tú, Daidí." _'I missed you, Daddy.'  
_"I missed you too, Lex." Clint whispered as he lifted her off the floor and kissed her cheek.

When he set her back on the ground, Lexi shot a glance at Natasha and after seeing her mother's subtle nod, she pulled Clint's hand until he followed her from the room.

They entered the elevator and went to their floor where Lexi forced him onto the couch and crawled into his lap, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Lex?" Clint asked, clearly confused.  
"Hmm?"  
"Are you ok?"  
"Perfect." Lexi replied.

They sat in silence for a while, and Lexi smiled as she felt Clint start to relax and wrap his arms around her small body.  
"They're gone." She finally whispered.  
"Sorry?" Clint asked.  
"My demons. They're gone."  
"I'm glad."  
"Me too. Which means it's your turn."  
"Mine aren't that simple, Lex."  
"Don't be ridiculous. You just need to see that they're gone, and you'll believe it."  
"That may have worked for you, but mine really aren't that easy to get rid of."  
"Then we'll work on it. Starting now."  
Lexi slid off his lap and stood facing him. She carefully unwrapped her scarf so that Clint could see the yellowing bruises on her throat.

Just as she expected, Clint tensed when he saw them, and she saw the self-loathing flash in his eyes.  
A thought occurred to Lexi and after instructing Clint to stay where he was, she ran to her room and grabbed her ipod. She placed it in the docks that seemed to be in every room, and set it to play _Buachaill Ón Eirne, _the song Clint used to sing to her but was having trouble getting through lately.

As soon as the music was playing softly, Lexi returned to Clint and stood in front of him, watching carefully.  
"Lexi, what are you doing?"  
"Helping you. I don't care how long it takes to convince you, but I will. Your demons are gone."

She knew he wouldn't believe her. She slowly reached out and grabbed his hands, pulling them to her. She felt him tense, but she didn't stop or break eye contact. She raised his hands so that they were pressed to her throat.

"Lexi, please-" Clint started.  
"Do you want to kill me?" Lexi asked seriously.  
"What?! Of course not." Clint replied.  
"And you won't. He's not in your head anymore, Daidí. You won't hurt me."  
"Lexi, I-"  
"Shh. Listen to me, ok?"  
Clint nodded and Lexi continued. "You don't want to hurt me, so you won't. He's gone, and he's not coming back. He can't make you hurt me ever again."  
"Lexi, it wasn't him. When it was happening, _I_ wanted to hurt you." Clint confessed, his face loaded with pain.  
"I know." Lexi whispered. "I know you wanted to. But you didn't, not really. It was nothing I can't recover from. I trust you, Daidí. No matter what happened, I still trust you. I will always trust you. You're the reason I'm still alive, the reason I still have my mom. You saved both of us when you took her away from Russia. You kept her safe on missions, not thinking twice about getting yourself hurt to protect her. You kept our existence from Loki so that he wouldn't know about us. I know you don't think you did, but you fought against him when he took over your head. You shot Fury where you knew he'd be protected. You forced yourself to walk slow enough for Мама to catch up with you on the hellicarrier so you could take her on in hand to hand, even though she's way better than you. You fought back."  
"Lexi-"  
"I'm not done yet. I still trust you. Sure I was scared of you for a little bit, but I realized that in 9 years, you'd only hurt me once. I think that's a pretty good track record.  
"I still trust you. I will always trust you. Your other demons may still be around, but this one, the bruises you gave me in order to not slit my throat, this demon is gone. It can't hurt you anymore because I still trust you and I know that you'll do everything you can to not hurt Ceara and me."

Before Clint had a chance to respond, Lexi threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She buried her head in his neck and smiled when he hugged her back.  
"I trust you too, Clint." Natasha said from the doorway, smiling at them while holding Ceara's hand.  
"Me too!" Ceara added, running to her father and sister and hugging them both as tightly as she could.

Clint pulled both of his daughters onto his lap and smiled when Natasha sat on the couch next to him.  
They sat in silence for a while before deciding to stay by themselves that night. JARVIS played old Disney movies for them and they sat on the couch together, Lexi and Ceara never leaving Clint's lap.

When it was finally time for them to go to bed, Clint took Lexi into her room and tucked her in.  
"Will you sing to me, Daidí?"  
Clint smiled and started singing. When he got to the end of the song, Lexi was asleep, and he smiled at her peaceful face, glad he'd finally been able to sing the whole thing to her.

It wasn't until he was lying in bed with Natasha on the verge of sleep that he realized that the bruises that had been visible on Lexi's throat when she'd fallen asleep didn't bother him as much as they used to. Now he was bothered because she had the bruises, and he no longer hated himself for giving them to her, having finally realized she'd been telling the truth when she told him that Loki couldn't get to them anymore, and that he'd been the reason the bruises had happened at all.

Just before falling asleep, Clint realized one very important piece of information:  
His biggest demon no longer existed.

* * *

**There you go! I hope you guys liked it, and it wasn't too weird. I think we're finally able to get into some more happy family time. At least until the next bit of drama comes.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**I am so sorry for the long wait! I was kind of stuck after the last chapter, so I think this one will be the last chapter. But have no fear. Look at my note at the end for your options!  
Thank you for the 100 reviews, the most I've ever gotten on any story. Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

* * *

6 months later, things were finally going back to normal. Clint and Natasha, and Lexi and Ceara for that matter, had moved into Avengers Tower with the rest of the team, minus Thor who was spending time with Jane before finally moving in.

Stasia and Ali were back in New York, and Lexi and Ceara spent the majority of their time with their friends. Lexi also spent a large amount of time with Tony in his lab, blowing random things up. She no longer had nightmares, but on the few occasions that she heard Tony wake up at night, she always managed to beat him to the common room and had a Disney movie ready for when he arrived.

Clint was still dealing with the fallout of the Chitauri incident, but Natasha made it clear that anybody who spoke against him or her family would end up in medical with more than a few serious injuries. Natasha herself was a major reason for Clint's speedy mental recovery. She was no stranger to being taken apart, which made her the perfect person to help Clint deal with his issues.

School had started again, and after all four girls had been in multiple fights, their parents took them out of public schools, and set about having them home schooled, with the help of the Avengers.  
The fights weren't their faults, not really. They all started because another kid would say something rude about one of the Avengers, or even Lexi since it was common knowledge that she'd fought alongside them. The girls would try to ignore it, but they all had breaking points and would eventually lash out.  
Their parents tried to punish them, but they couldn't deny that they were proud, mainly because none of the girls ever got truly hurt, while the kid they were fighting always ended up worse for wear.

Time went on, and the city continued to heal and rebuild. The Avengers and their families moved on and tried to act normal.

Clint and Natasha and their daughters weren't healed, not by any stretch of the imagination. But they got closer every day.

* * *

**I know this is really short, but I needed to get the ending done.  
Now, your options:  
1) A continuation of this universe, but a few years- or more- later.  
2) Another Clintasha story, with or without children.  
3) No other stories. At all.  
Choose wisely. (And not #3, please. I just put it there because I wanted 3 and didn't have another idea.)  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


	28. Chapter 28

I just wanted to let all of you guys know that the sequel to this is up. It's called Baby Girl: All Grown Up. It takes place about 7 years later, when Lexi is 18 and a new agent at SHIELD.  
Thank you for the 117 reviews, it's by far the most reviews I've ever gotten on a story. Not that it's a contest, but what are the chances we can do better with this story? I think it's doable.  
You guys are all amazing. :)  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)


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